Eternal Bonds
by KiraTasima
Summary: There were many causes. Her bond to her brother, becoming a mage and a healer, her elven friend, the Blight, and a betrayal. And then, she became a Grey Warden. Follows the main plot with three origins. Eventual F!Tabris/Alistair, other pairings TBA
1. Chapter 1

--Author's Notes: As you may imagine, I don't own Dragon Age: Origins or any of the characters used in the game. I will occasionally name NPCs or add random NPCs to the story, but that doesn't really count.

This is my first time writing a fanfic. Or at least, my first time writing one and then actually convincing myself to put it online somewhere. I've written some random stories in the past, nothing I'm particularly proud of. I appreciate reviews, just like pretty much any author. Of course, I'd like any review that's telling me that this is terrible to also give me ideas as to how to improve. (I'm not against reviews that say 'I like this!' or anything like that, though I would appreciate if you tell me anything in particular that you do like)

I apologize in advance if I mess up any characters from the game. If I clearly mess up a character's personality, speech patterns, or even if I say that two characters are related in a way that they're not, please let me know.

Also, things may have been edited poorly. I made a few changes after I initially wrote this (mainly changing my characters' ages), and so things may not be consistent throughout the whole chapter.

That said, I'm taking _some_ liberties with things, like making up random stuff. But then, it would be pretty boring if I didn't, right? In the first little part of this intro-chapter-thing, you'll see what I mean.

The story is labeled as Cousland and Tabris, even though the main-main character is a human mage. You'll see why.--

_---_

_Medren Cousland, Age 10 _- _8 years before the Blight_

---

_I still remember. I'll always remember. Even after everything that has happened to me, I still remember the day she left, and why. It wasn't my fault, even though I always felt like it was. I knew then that it wasn't the last time we would meet, and I was certainly glad for it._

Medren Cousland sat in his bedroom in Highever's castle. At the foot of his bed slept the Mabari puppy, Keine, who he and his twin sister, Nerysse, had begun to raise. He was uncertain of what to think at that time, simply staring at the wall, waiting.

He wasn't sure how long it had been. How long it had been since the day he had been sitting in the library while his brother and sister were outside for one reason or another. There were many days like that, due to Medren's pasty white skin that burned very quickly and terribly when exposed to the sun. But that particular day was different.

Medren remembered sitting, reading a book about his family history. It was a book he had read before, but it just so happened to be the one that he pulled off the shelf that day. He wasn't allowed to read all of the books in the library, and he had felt as if he had read all of the ones available to him at that point. Including the dictionary.

He hadn't gotten very far when he felt something weird in his mind. To him, it felt as if Nerysse was hurt, or at least that something happened to her. He had run down the hallways, following intuition as to where she had to be. Right outside the front gate, that was where he had felt that she was.

And she had been there, collapsed, unconscious.

Medren remembered how his older brother, Fergus, expressed his concern because Nerysse had fainted for no reason. It couldn't have been from heat, because it was a particularly cool day. It wasn't exhaustion, because she had only been watching Fergus train with some of the soldiers. There had been no reason for her to faint, but she did.

Of course, Fergus had also been concerned about the fact that Medren was outside on a sunny day, and that he had somehow known that something was wrong with Nerysse.

When Nerysse hadn't woken up after a week had passed, a letter had been sent to the Circle of Magi, requesting healers to check on her condition. It was the day that they had arrived that Nerysse finally woke up. That was over a month since she had first entered that state.

And so, that day, the healers were looking to see what was wrong. Medren had chosen to keep himself away from the excitement. His parents were probably sitting in Nerysse's room, waiting for the mages to have an idea of what was wrong. Medren didn't want to know _what_ was wrong, he just wanted to know that she was okay, that she would get better. So he sat in his bedroom, alone, except for the small, sleeping puppy who probably didn't understand anything of what was going on.

He wondered if the mages had been told about the fact that he just knew that something had happened to his twin. In fact, he hadn't been in the room when she woke up, but he had felt that something had changed with her condition, and so he had gone to check on her. And she had been awake. Apparently, she had felt a similar connection to him in the past, but hadn't said anything about it, mostly because nothing important had happened to him.

It was weird, and he knew that it would mean that the mages would have to take a look at him, too, if they found out about it. Unless that sort of thing was perfectly normal and he didn't know about it. Nothing that he had read hinted at such, and so he assumed that it was unusual.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Because he had no reason to behave otherwise, Medren stood up, walked over to the door, and opened it.

Standing before him now was a somewhat elderly woman. He knew that she had come with the healers - he distinctly recognized her from the small group. He looked up at her hopefully, and asked, "is Nerysse going to be okay?"

"She will be fine, child," the woman replied, "your sister displays a great amount of magical potential. It appears that the cause of her illness was the fact that it had been suppressed for so long."

Medren blinked with surprise. Nerysse? A _mage?_ In some ways, he knew it made sense. In others... well, he just didn't expect it.

"And considering the way that you and your sister have found yourselves to be connected to one another, I must check to see if you have magic as well."

"Of course," he told her quietly, "do what you need to."

He knew that the woman was doing something with magic, but he didn't feel a thing. Maybe he wasn't supposed to. He didn't know.

"You do not have the spark," she said, her voice sounding almost confused. She then muttered seemingly to herself, "and you seem oddly... resistant. As if your connection to the Fade is limited, and so magic cannot truly touch you..."

_I'm... what?_ Medren thought, but did not voice his confusion. There was no reason for him to, since the mage was just as confused as him. "Will I be able to see Nerysse before she goes?" he asked.

"Yes. We will not begin our return to the tower until tomorrow morning, so there will be time for goodbyes."

"Thank you," he replied, unsure of what was considered to be proper behavior in that situation.

"I must go now, and tell the others of what I have learned. Be well, child," the woman told him, as the woman turned and began down the hallway. Medren simply stood there until she turned a corner. At that point, he turned back into the room and walked over to Keine, who was still asleep.

"Wake up, boy," Medren whispered to the puppy, "we have to go see Nerysse now. She's going to be leaving soon."

When Keine didn't wake up, Medren carefully picked him up instead. The Mabari puppy was small enough that Medren could carry him without a problem. At that point, Medren decided it was time to turn to find Nerysse, and probably the rest of his family as well. They would all be in Nerysse's room, right? His parents would probably be helping her pack her things for her upcoming journey. Fergus would probably be there for the same reason, too. Yes, that would be where everyone was. Medren hurried in that direction, bringing Keine with him.

"There you are, pup," Medren's father, Teyrn Bryce Cousland said once he had made his presence in Nerysse's room obvious. "What's the news with you? None of the mages have come to tell us the results."

"I don't have any magic," Medren replied honestly, "and she said something about it seeming as if I am immune to it, but I'm not sure. She was speaking quietly, so it was somewhat difficult to understand."

"That's... good news, I suppose," his father replied.

"I just wish that none of my children had magic," Teyrna Eleanor Cousland, Medren's mother, commented.

"Don't worry, mother," Nerysse said from her spot on the other side of the room, "I'll study hard, and do my best. I'll be sure to write; Miss Wynne told me that apprentices at the tower are allowed to send one letter every month, and when I become a full mage I'll be allowed more than that. Even though I won't be allowed to hold a title, I'll do my best to make you proud."

Eleanor sighed, and then smiled, "I know you will, Nerysse."

"We'll miss you," Fergus told her. "Try not to trip or faint too often, though. We don't need Medren starting to freak out every few hours."

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Nerysse said with a smile, "It'll probably be me doing more of the freaking out. From what I understand, I tend to feel him a bit more often than he feels me. If that makes sense."

"Except that _I_ don't trip and fall twice every hour," Medren teased.

"You hurt yourself more often than you may think!"

"Okay, okay, you win. But actually, the whole connection thing might work out to our advantage. Maybe we'll figure out how to talk through it."

"That would get complicated, I think. I won't be pursuing it, I can tell you that much."

"I might."

"You do that, then. Just don't go waking me up in the middle of the night."

"Don't you worry, I know you'll need your sleep."

Bryce and Eleanor simply shook their heads as the twins half-argued. Medren knew that they were just so used to hearing it that it was almost comical. Almost.

Medren looked at his sister and couldn't help but smile slightly. The two looked like they weren't related at all. Medren's hair was the darker than the hair of any person he'd ever seen, whereas Nerysse had bright red hair. Her eyes were a deep, sapphire blue color, and his were a bright amber that often appeared yellow or gold. Her skin naturally had color to it, and was tanned from her time in the sun, but his was still the horrible white that it was, and it always would be that color. It was so ridiculous how different their appearances were, and yet they were twins. Twins that had ended up being connected through some unexplainable mental bond.

---

_Nerysse Cousland, Age 14 - 4 years before the Blight_

---

_I met a lot of people during my time as an apprentice. I'll never forget when I was given my first opportunity to get out of the tower and use the magic that I had been spending so much of my spare time perfecting. I also didn't realize how many of the people that I saw during that time would have an impact on my life a few years later._

"So, you get to go to _Denerim_ and help out with affairs at the alienage there," Nerysse's friend, Jowan, said. His appearance reminded her of Medren, in some ways, due to his hair color, but otherwise, she couldn't really compare her brother with her friend.

"Yes, that's right. Miss Wynne said that things are especially bad around the time of the Landsmeet, and they need all the healers they can get. I happen to be skilled in the creation school, and I've already chosen it as my main focus. They want to give me some experience in the field, since the opportunity has shown itself," Nerysse replied.

"So when do you leave? Not now, I hope."

"Tomorrow, right after lunch, I think. Did you really think that we'd leave now, when the sun's already started to set? It would make no sense; we'd get nowhere."

"Well then, you get to sit around with the rest of us while everyone talks about the Harrowing that's happening today," Jowan told her with a sigh, "They're saying that there are some Templars-in-training attending this one. Not like _I _care."

"You wouldn't be mentioning it if you didn't care," Nerysse told him as she opened a book that was on the table.

"Okay, maybe it makes me a bit more uneasy than usual. I don't understand why they bring their trainees to Harrowings."

"Well, the templars have to learn _somehow_."

"Yes, but why Harrowings? I can't imagine there would be much to learn from."

"They're not well-trained enough to go hunting apostates, and there aren't necessarily apostates to hunt. And _besides_, think of the meaning of the word 'harrowing'. It's an adjective, that means extremely disturbing or distressing. That doesn't make the trial sound particularly safe, now does it? I'm sure that there's plenty for them to learn from."

Jowan looked at her with surprise. "Have you been reading a dictionary or something?"

"Yes, isn't that normal?"

"...No."

"My brother would do that all the time. When he didn't feel like reading any of the other books in the library back home, he would pull out the dictionary and start reading it. He wasn't allowed outside much, after all. He'd surprise mother and father often when he did that."

"And there you go again, talking about home."

"Sorry, Jowan."

It was hard to remember that Jowan didn't remember his family at all, that his spark of magic had been discovered at such a young age that he had been raised at the tower, or at least close enough to it. He was the same age as her, after all. But Nerysse wasn't like most of the other apprentices. Most of them had no idea who their parents were, or if they had any siblings... They were lucky if they knew a family name to call themselves by. Nerysse knew her family, and she was constantly in contact with them. Every month she sent out a letter to Medren, and he would always reply. He didn't know that she would be going to Denerim, though. No one in her family knew. In fact, she had learned about it the day after she sent her monthly letter.

They would be overjoyed when they saw her there. Assuming that they did, of course. It _was_ going to be the time of the Landsmeet, after all, and if she asked nicely, she had a chance of being able to go to her family's estate in the city. It wasn't likely, since she and her main teachers would be spending most of their time helping the elves in the alienage.

Nerysse couldn't help but look up from the book that she had absently started reading when she heard what sounded like a small group of people marching through the hall. There were some of the Templars there, many of which she didn't recognize. They were probably the ones there for the Harrowing. She wondered which ones were the trainees; looking at them carefully, she noticed that some of them had armor with slightly less on it design-wise. They had to be the trainees.

She noted that one of them didn't look particularly pleased to be there. And there was something about him; something that looked vaguely familiar. Someone that Medren had seen, perhaps? The templar trainee certainly didn't look like anyone _she_ knew.

---

_Chisa Tabris, Age 20 - 2 years before the Blight_

---

_He was the only decent nobleman I had ever met in my life at that point. And that was saying something, since I had seen a _lot_ of noblemen, even by then. I didn't know why at the time, but he reminded me of my friend who I had seen starting just a couple years before, and had seen earlier that day. It was weird, I knew it, but still it bothered me. I didn't dare ask him, though. It had always been bad enough, that I had become so close to one of the human mages that came by every year. It didn't matter. I could respect him without my people knowing, and I had a friend that I didn't care what my people thought of me for having._

It was _that_ time of the year, again. The time of the Landsmeet. One of the worst times of the year for the young women living in the elven alienage in Denerim.

Chisa had never faced the worst. She had always been good at hiding when the nobles came to ease their boredom with the women. She had never been taken. Ever. But she had seen the ones who were taken. She had seen them, when they returned, battered and beaten.

And every day, the mages came by. Only during the time of the Landsmeet, though, since they weren't allowed outside of the tower as much as they might have liked. They helped, at least. They healed the bruises that the women suffered from. From what Chisa understood, the mages had started coming because one of their healers had been from the alienage, and convinced those in charge of the Circle that they could go and help.

It was the third year that the girl with the bright red hair and eyes the same color as Chisa's had come with the mages from the circle. For some reason, Chisa had become good friends with the girl, Nerysse, she said her name was. It was somewhat unusual, and many of the other elves in the alienage silently questioned her. But Chisa didn't care; she had always been a bit of an outcast in the alienage outside of her cousins Soris and Shianni.

Nerysse and the other mages had come to check up on them earlier that day, but there had been nothing for them to do. Not yet. The younger generation of nobles hadn't made their move yet, they hadn't come to collect elves for entertainment. It would be that night. Chisa knew it, somewhere inside of her.

The night had come. Chisa stood in one of the alienage's many dark alleys. Some of the elves were in the streets of the alienage, talking. They stayed out far too late, especially during the Landsmeet! She understood the ones who were coming back from their jobs, and yet even so, they should have gone straight back to their homes.

Especially the women.

But that night, Chisa saw something she never saw normally. A human man stood at the entrance to the alienage that she was near. The strange thing was that he wasn't facing inwards. He was looking out.

Curiosity got the best of her, and so she left her alley. "Who are you, and why are you here?" She asked him quickly.

"Medren Cousland, and protecting you," he replied simply. She had never seen him before, or at least, she didn't think so. With his terribly white skin, it wouldn't have surprised her if he wasn't allowed to walk out in the sun for fear of burning.

"Cousland, huh? So that means you're a noble?"

"Yes."

"Noblemen tend to be frowned upon here."

"I'm sure it's more frowned upon for you to be standing around, _talking_ to a nobleman."

"Well yes, that's true. But you're just standing there. And you said you were... protecting us?"

"Yes."

"Protecting us from _what,_ exactly?"

"The other nobles, of course. They bother me. A lot. Whether it's commenting about how my sister is a mage, how I can't go outside during the day very easily, or some other thing, they bother me. And now they've taken to what's probably their fathers' old habits of kidnapping elves from the alienage and... well, I'm sure you know the rest."

"So you're doing this... because you just don't like the way the other nobles act?"

"You could say that."

"There tend to be a lot of them this time of year. Are you sure that you can take all of them? And that they'll come in through this entrance?"

"No, and yes. I _do_ listen in on their conversations sometimes, and they're not smart enough to lie about which entrance they're going in through. Especially since they're not expecting me to be here. But I've been training. I don't know how many years they've been doing this, since some of them are a few years older than me. Even so, I don't like it, so I've been training to stop it."

"I... see..." Chisa replied. He was an odd one. He reminded her of Nerysse in some ways. And he even had a sister who was a mage. And yet... there was no way that those two could have been related; they looked nothing like each other. It had to just be a coincidence. And yet... didn't Nerysse say that she had been from a noble family before she had been a mage? But that could have been _any_ noble family.

"You should go. Go hide in your house, or an alley if you're intent on watching me fight them. They'll be here soon, I think."

"I can help you. I know how to fight."

"No. It's better you don't. If I lose, and they know you're there, you'll be taken. So at the very least, hide yourself. You seem smart."

"Okay, but don't expect me to just sit back and do nothing."

"Only if things get bad for you. Otherwise, let me handle it."

"Fine, fine. Not my fault if you get yourself hurt."

Chisa shrugged, and disappeared back into the alley she had come from. However, she would have something to keep her busy for a little while.

Her father wouldn't be happy with her when she got home.


	2. Chapter 2

_The last thing I needed at that point was to have the one of the only people in the tower I could call my friend betray me. _Betray_ someone who thought that they were his friend, and use _forbidden_ magic. I wasn't sure what to think of him after that. I don't think I'll ever know what to think of him, no matter how long ago it may have been._

A full mage of the circle. That was what Nerysse Cousland had become the previous night. When she awoke, she had almost instantly been told that First Enchanter Irving wished to speak with her. So, she had gone to speak with him. According to him, her Harrowing had been one of the fastest.

And _she_ had been worried about running out of time.

Nerysse had been asked to escort the tower's guest back to his room. Wording it that way seemed, to her, to make it sound as if the guest had done something wrong and the First Enchanter no longer wished to speak to the man. Of course, that couldn't have been the case. This Duncan person seemed to be perfectly respectable and good, especially considering that he was a Grey Warden. From what she had caught of the end of his conversation with Irving, darkspawn had started to come out of their hiding place in the Deep Roads, and were attacking Ferelden. They were mostly congregated near Ostagar and the Korcari wilds. And of course, where there were darkspawn coming up from underground in large numbers, there were mages to help drive them back down. Already, quite a few mages had been sent to Ostagar to help with the war effort, but they needed more. As a healer, Nerysse had a relatively high chance of being sent to help with the war effort. Of course, having only completed her Harrowing the night before, such a thing was still unlikely. And anyway, Irving hadn't mentioned anything of the sort while she was meeting with him, so that made it even less likely.

Nerysse did as she was told, and escorted Duncan to the room that had been set aside for him. The moment that she had completed this task and left the room, Jowan approached her. She had spoken to him right after she had woken up; he had been concerned after her trial. Concerned about her condition, but even moreso about what was going to happen to him. He was still an apprentice, and had been at the tower for longer than she had.

"Is something wrong, Jowan?" Nerysse asked, as she noted the strong worry and desperation in his eyes.

"Yes, Nerysse, but... I can't tell you here," Jowan replied, "Would you come with me? This is really important."

"Of course, lead the way."

What could have been the matter? When they had spoken earlier that day, he expressed concern over the fact that there was a possibility that he could be made tranquil. But there was no way that he could have known such a thing for certain; if a mage or templar had told him that he would be made tranquil, he would already be tranquil. Which he clearly wasn't, considering how emotional he still was.

He took her to... the chapel? Why had Jowan brought her to the _chapel_, of all places? There would be plenty of Templars there, most likely. If he wanted to tell her something that he couldn't tell her in the halls, wouldn't he have been better off telling her about it somewhere where the Templars _wouldn't_ be? And even if there weren't Templars there to worry about, there were always other members of the Chantry there. It was the worst place to tell secrets.

Except for the fact that there was so much chanting going on that they were less likely to be heard.

Jowan then went to one of the corners of the chapel, and motioned towards one of the Chantry initiates to come over. Nerysse saw the strategy of standing in this particular corner; if someone who would cause a problem for them entered the chapel, they would be able to see them and then change the topic. It made enough sense.

"Nerysse, I'd like you to meet Lily," Jowan said to her, presenting the Chantry initiate, "She and I have been... umm... together, for some time now, but we've had to keep it a secret." 

"Well, _yeah_, she's kind of taken _vows_ not to, you know, have anything to do with men when it comes to certain things. Certain things that I'm sure you've been doing, considering how people comment about how you disappear at night, and often come back in the morning with a big grin on your face. I've noticed the grinning part." As Jowan blushed slightly, Nerysse continued, "So, is that all? Just wanted to introduce me to your girlfriend?"

"No, no, there's... more. Remember how I was concerned about my Harrowing?" Nerysse nodded. Jowan continued, "They're... going to make me tranquil. I'll lose everything that I am! My dreams, my hopes, my fears, my love for Lily..." And he didn't even mention their friendship. That was... depressing, to say the least.

"And how did you even find out about this?"

"I saw the documents on Greagoir's table," Lily answered, "They authorized the Rite of Tranquility on Jowan, and the First Enchanter had already signed them."

"If it's already been agreed on, and scheduled, and all of that, then you're better off living with it. You've heard the rumors about you, Jowan. "

"And they're not true!" He exclaimed angrily. The number of times he'd said that...

"I know that. But look, they exist. If you run away now, then that will as good as prove them to be true. Running away marks you as an apostate, as well. The Templars will go after you."

"They won't be able to find me if I destroy my phylactery."

"Are you actually going to try that? Destroying your phylactery?"

"Yes, Nerysse. And I need your help to do it. From what Lily has told me of the vault's protection, a full mage of the circle is needed to get in. _Please_, Nerysse, I need your help!"

Nerysse looked at him, silently at first. He was her friend, one very few people in the tower that she truly considered such. And yet, because he was her friend, she didn't want to cause him problems by helping him go apostate. She wanted him to be happy (which couldn't happen if he became tranquil), and yet... she didn't want to break the rules. If she did, she would get in trouble. She would disappoint her family, especially her mother, who had been so upset about her being a mage in the first place.

"Let me think about it," Nerysse told him, "You're asking a lot of me, and I really don't know if I can do it."

"Just please, give us your answer soon," Lily said.

Nerysse nodded, and quickly left. She began pacing in the hall, unsure of what else she was able to do. Her best friend was asking her to do something that would surely cause trouble for them no matter what they did. There was no way that the vault was simply guarded by whatever was there in the basement to guard it. No, First Enchanter Irving and Knight-Commander Greagoir were probably somehow magically connected to it so that they would know if someone was in there. Or at least, that would be _logical_. Why didn't Jowan think of that possibility?

But she didn't know what to think of him at that point. He was just telling her this out of the blue, no real background to it. He had probably already known for a while that he was going to be made tranquil, and just didn't want to tell her about it until she became a full mage. After all, he didn't seem to acknowledge their friendship when he was talking about the problems with being tranquil. He mentioned his love for Lily, but not his feelings of friendship towards _her_. Why should she help him if he didn't seem to consider her a friend anymore?

At least one good thing was true. He couldn't have possibly been a blood mage. Despite the rumors, if he _was_ a blood mage, he would have used some form of mind-controlling magic on her to get her to do what he wanted. Unless he wasn't that good at it yet. That was always a possibility. Or he just didn't want Lily to know, since she was a Chantry initiate at heart... What was she thinking? Accusing her best friend of using forbidden magic?

Yet, there was always that possibility. There were three reasons why an apprentice mage would be made tranquil. The apprentice may be afraid of the Harrowing, and therefore opt for the Rite of Tranquility. Obviously, that wasn't Jowan. The apprentice may be deemed too weak, and therefore forced to undergo the Rite of Tranquility to keep them from dying at the hands of a demon. But Jowan wasn't all that weak. Not the strongest apprentice, but stronger than others that had gone through the Harrowing and passed. The third reason was that the apprentice was considered too difficult to control, and that _usually_ meant they were practicing blood magic. That was the only option left.

Nerysse shivered at the thought. If he _was_ a blood mage (and she wasn't sure what to think, considering how often he swore up and down that he wasn't), and she helped him, she would be in even more trouble than she would be if he was just being a stupid apprentice when she helped him. She just didn't know what to do. Stupid hard decisions.

Her thinking eventually caused her to run into Wynne, her main instructor during her apprenticeship. Wynne was the second person in the tower that Nerysse considered a friend; of course, Nerysse's mentor was more than likely old enough to be her grandmother. But Wynne was definitely someone who she could talk to about this, who might be able to give her a suggestion as to what to do.

"Is something wrong, Nerysse? You appear distressed," Wynne said to her.

"I... umm... it's Jowan. He's... uh... can I talk to you in private about this? It's kind of something that I'm not really supposed to talk about."

"Of course."

Wynne walked with Nerysse to the senior mage's room. Nerysse was familiar with it. She had gone there so many times during her training. It was a relief to be somewhere that she was so used to when she was explaining this... problem.

"What is bothering you?" Wynne asked.

"Jowan... found out that he's going to be made tranquil. I don't know if you know of the Chantry initiate named Lily, but apparently those two have had something going on between them for some time now, and so when Lily saw the document ordering Jowan to be made tranquil, she told him. Now they've asked me to help get to, and destroy, Jowan's phylactery. I know I should have just told them that I wouldn't help them and then gone and alerted the First Enchanter of this, but... Jowan is my friend. I don't want to just betray him like that," Nerysse explained. Already she was feeling better because she was able to talk about the issue. "I know that I still should go speak with the First Enchanter, but I just can't do it. I... really don't know what to do."

"I will be speaking with the First Enchanter soon due to the need for more healers at Ostagar to support the war against the darkspawn. If you would like, I will mention your predicament to him, and tell you want he says afterwards."

"That... would be appreciated."

"Then I will do that. Keep yourself busy for now; I will make sure you are found when there is an answer."

"Thank you so much, Wynne." Nerysse gave a very slight bow before she left the room. She was really glad that Wynne hadn't gone with the first group of mages to Ostagar. For two reasons. The first was that had Wynne gone, Nerysse wouldn't have been able to complete her training to become a full mage. The second was that otherwise she would be stuck in an even worse situation than she was in. And Wynne was so willing to help, too.

In order to occupy herself, Nerysse found herself helping Senior Enchanter Leorah clear out an infestation of giant spiders in the storage facility. Nerysse's wimpy arcane bolt spell combined with her staff were thankfully enough to take care of them. It certainly helped to get her mind off of the Jowan sitiation.

As she worked on clearing out the spiders, Nerysse felt for her bond with Medren. To check up on what he was doing, which was another thing that would help to divert her focus. Apparently, her twin brother was drinking his daily cup of tea. It was almost as if he was addicted to the beverage; if he didn't have a cup on a particular day, he tended to be in a bad mood. It was funny in its own right. Medren had never seemed like the kind of person who would sit around drinking tea. But then, when he wasn't able to get out much, learning the "proper" way to socialize would have been something to do.

Otherwise, her brother seemed to be doing well. There was a strange vibe of uncertainty and suspicion coming through the bond, but Nerysse didn't know what it was coming from. Then there were also feelings of frustration. But she tried to focus on the relatively positive emotions coming from the fact that he was happily drinking his tea.

When Nerysse finished her task, she left the storage area and reported her results to Senior Enchanter Leorah. It was at that point that Leorah told her that she owed her a favor, and also that the First Enchanter was looking for her. Giving the Senior Enchanter quick thanks for the news, Nerysse hurried to the First Enchanter's office.

Hopefully Jowan and Lily weren't getting too suspicious of her yet.

When she entered Irving's office, she offered a quick bow out of habit. She had never been certain what formalities were appropriate in the tower, so she usually just gave a quick bow to anyone who was of some form of a higher rank than her. Which was almost everyone, although fewer now that she was a full mage.

"Wynne told me of your... predicament," Irving said, "and I have a solution to offer. When a situation like this occurs - and this is not the first time, mind you, such plans are not uncommon - we will usually take the apprentice in question and make then tranquil earlier than what is scheduled. However, this situation is... different. There is a Chantry initiate involved, and I will not have one of my own punished without the Chantry feeling the blow as well. If we simply tell someone that she is a part of it, they will claim that she was framed."

Ah, the great war-that-was-not-a-war between mages and the Templars. She usually tried to ignore it and not get involved, but it appeared that on this particular occasion, she would be thrown into the mess.

"What would you have me do?" Nerysse asked simply.

"In order to properly show that the initiate is guilty, we must catch her in the act. Therefore, I ask that you assist them with their plans. Convince them that you _will _help them, and proceed to do so. I will alert the Knight-Commander of the situation, and you will not be punished for your involvement. Jowan and Lily will be caught, and will receive proper punishment."

"I... understand."

"Do not look so upset. If you assisted them without alerting me, the result would be the same, except you would be on the receiving end of some punishment, as well. You have done the right thing, Nerysse."

"Thank you, First Enchanter," She said habitually, unsure of what else she _could_ say. "I will take care of this right away." She hesitated for a moment to ensure that the First Enchanter had nothing more to say to her, and then left his office.

Would Greagoir let her off the hook so easily, just because Irving told him to? It was doubtful, especially knowing the Knight-Commander. Unless he was too focused with Jowan and Lily's misdeeds to even worry about her. But would he do that?

Nerysse's thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice say "A-ah, N-Nerysse. I'm... umm... glad to s-see that your Harrowing went smoothly."

She looked up at the speaker and smiled. Cullen, the only Templar that she could really have a decent conversation with. Ever. "Hello, Cullen," She said happily. Of course, she wasn't actually really happy, but she didn't want to make him worry or anything.

"They... umm... had picked me a-as the Templar to... strike you down if... you became an abomination." Once he said that, he quickly added, "I-it's nothing personal, I swear! I'm just... glad that you're all right."

She laughed slightly. "Don't worry; if you had to do that, I would have understood. It's your duty, after all. But... anyway, I have something that I need to attend to, and I really shouldn't distract you from your duties."

"Distracting me? Y-you're not... distracting me. Umm... well, you are, but, you're not. W-what I mean to say is... you can, umm... talk to me whenever you want to."

Her smile grew slightly. "I'll remember that. I'll see you later, Cullen."

She didn't consider him a friend, exactly. There was always that tense awkwardness because he was a Templar. But he was sweet, and, as Jowan had pointed out to her once (which for some reason, she hadn't even noticed until he mentioned it), he had a huge crush on her. Hopefully the assignment for him to be the one to kill her if she had failed had just been random, and not a cruel joke from the Knight-Commander.

But what she had to worry about was the task at hand. She had been ordered to _betray_ her friend. What wonders that would do for her reputation. Something could still go wrong, too. What if Jowan managed to escape, anyway? She would have helped release an apostate. That was not something that she wanted to be remembered for, even if it had been on the First Enchanter's orders.

She returned to the chapel, almost expecting Jowan and Lily to be gone, having found another mage to help them. After all, all that they needed was a full circle mage that they could use. It didn't matter who it was, they just had to be able to use him or her. It was disgusting, in its own way. Of course, she wouldn't actually tell either of them that. Despite the fact that it was how she actually felt, she just was not someone who would actually admit to feeling that. Nerysse shook her head as she walked. She just had to deal with it. She chose this path. It was time for her to deal with her decisions.

"Nerysse! You're back!" Jowan exclaimed the moment that she appeared in his field of vision. "Have you... have you made a decision? Will you help us?" His eyes were filled with hope and desperation. Even if she wasn't under orders to help him, she wouldn't have been able to keep herself from doing so when he had those eyes.

"I'm only doing this because I can't stand it when you look at me like that," She replied. Jowan and Lily looked at each other and smiled. Both of them were so excited, so happy. Nerysse felt horribly guilty, knowing that they were going to be caught. "What's the plan?"

Lily's face became serious once again, as she looked at Nerysse. "There are two doors in the basement that will keep us from the room with the phylacteries. The first door requires a password that I've learned, and any spell cast by a mage of the circle."

"I see. Jowan can't do it, since he's an apprentice, right?" 

"Exactly. But the first door is the easy one as things go. The second door has two keys. The First Enchanter and Knight-Commander each have one, but we won't be able to get those. However, if you could get a fire rod from the storage room that Owain is always stationed at..."

"I think I get it. With the fire rod, we could melt the locks. And only full mages are able to get those rods out from storage. I'll get right on it, you can count on me." Nerysse smiled, as she left the chapel. The sooner this was over and done with, the better.

They were probably already suspicious of her. She wasn't acting weird _at all_. How could they possibly get the idea that she was acting weird?

She hurried to find Owain and ask him for a fire rod. She just wanted to get this done with. The sooner, the better. Of course, there was a complication of sorts. She needed to get a Senior Enchanter to sign a form for her. But... there _was_ Leorah, who _did_ owe her a favor for clearing out those spiders. Yes, that would work. And if for some reason that didn't work, she could theoretically ask Irving. But Leorah was closer, and the less time she took, the better.

Leorah signed to form for Nerysse willingly, not seeing what harm could be done with it. Oh, sure, it could be for a simple thing like a candle that lit itself pretty much. _Or_, it could be used to open a door to a vault that no one other than the First Enchanter and Knight-Commander were allowed into most of the time. Logic at its finest.

She returned to the chapel after turning in the form to see Jowan and Lily nearly bouncing with excitement. Guilt stabbed at her once again, and so she forced herself to remember that she was doing what was technically right. Maybe not what she really wanted to do, but it was what she had to do. She would likely lose her best friend, yes, but no matter what happened, she would have lost him.

"I've got the rod. Let's hurry up before someone discovers the plan. Unlike you, I'll still be stuck here."

Nothing much more than that had to be said. They hurried down to the basement floor, surprisingly not being asked what they were doing. Either everyone knew, or it was perfectly normal for an apprentice, a mage, and an initiate to go down into the basement. People probably assumed that they'd go down there, get stuck at the first door, and come right back up after a minute or two. And if all went according to plan, it would take about that long.

But nothing went according to plan. Ever.

The first door opened as it was supposed to. Lily spoke the password that she learned from a Templar, and Nerysse cast a random spell. It was the second door that became an issue. There was an anti-magic aura of sorts around it. They couldn't use the rod of fire, and they couldn't use any magic to try and make it work.

Of course, Jowan insisted that they keep going. Nerysse protested a bit in an attempt to try not to look too horribly suspicious, but she didn't actively try to stop him. No, she continued on with the plan. And she felt horrible about it. And of course, there happened to conveniently be another passage, right nearby. Jowan insisted that they try it. And no matter how much she wanted to, Nerysse couldn't tell them "here, take the damn rod, I'm going to sleep." No, she had to stay with them. She had to help them fight _every single_ guardian that could possibly exist in that place. _And_ heal their wounds afterwards. What fun.

Finally, they came to a room filled with Tevinter artifacts that had probably been stored away for very good reasons. But Jowan pointed out one that would amplify any magic used on it, including the fire rod. How _did_ he know these things? They moved a bookcase away from a wall, so that there would be a clear path between the artifact and what they hoped was the phylactery chamber. Nerysse activated the rod of fire on the statue, and watched as its power was multiplied in order to allow the flames to blast a hole through the wall. Conveniently, that hole _did_ lead into the room with the apprentices' phylacteries.

Nerysse watched as Jowan searched for his phylactery. When he found it, he held it for a few moments, before happily dropping it. She understood that he didn't want to see that thing anymore. She understood why he wanted to do what he did. And as it shattered, she felt the guilt stab at her, because she was ruining his hopes, his dreams, just like what would have happened had he been made tranquil.

"We should hurry and get out of here," Lily suggested.

Jowan nodded, and returned to where the two girls were waiting. "Nerysse... are you all right?" He asked her suddenly.

Nerysse jolted her head up to look at him. "I... yes, I'm fine. Just... you know, thinking, is all."

"Okay then," Jowan said, not sounding entirely convinced. "Lily's right, though. We need to get out of here. People will start to wonder why we've been down here for so long."

They hurried back to the tower's ground floor, only to find Irving, Greagoir, and some other Templars waiting for them. Nerysse noticed Duncan standing off to the side, as if the Grey Warden was interested in how this was going to play out. Something about the situation just felt wrong, like fate was about to play a cruel trick on her, and she would just have to deal with the outcome.

"An apprentice, conspiring with an initiate," Greagoir observed, "It appears that what you said is true, Irving. And Lily, I am very disappointed."

"G-Greagoir..." Lily murmured.

"Hmm," The Knight-Commanded said, seemingly to himself, "she appears genuinely confused, not a servant of the blood mage. It appears that you really were right, Irving. The initiate has betrayed us. This will not go unpunished."

"You've done well, Nerysse," Irving commented.

Jowan turned to her accusingly. "You... you... you led us into a trap?"

"I... did what I felt was necessary, and I feel bad about it. Whether you accept that or not is a completely different story," Nerysse whispered in response, unsure of whether he heard her or not. It probably wasn't worth speaking to him, anyway, since-

"Don't you dare speak to me!" He shouted angrily. He would have probably given that exact response no matter what she told him. He was angry, and rightfully so. After all, his friend had betrayed him. No matter how stupid he had been, he was the one being betrayed.

"Enough of this," Greagoir growled. "As Knight-Commander of the Templars here assembled, I sentence this blood mage to death." He then looked at Lily, "And this initiate has scorned the Chantry and her vows. Take her to Aeonar."

Lily muttered something in fear, but Nerysse couldn't hear her. What happened next was not what she expected. No one seemed to expect it.

"No! I won't let you touch her!" Jowan shouted. And the next thing Nerysse knew, Jowan had a knife in his hand. He must have had it hiding in his robes somewhere easily accessible. Whatever the case, the knife was in his hand, and he stabbed himself. The blood sprayed everywhere.

Jowan cast something. The spell was one meant to simply get everyone out of his way, to knock them down while he made an escape. Out of the corner of her eye while she seemed to be stuck on the floor, Nerysse could see that Lily still stood. Of course; Jowan planned to take her with him, still. He was crazy. There was no other way to describe her friend now. Maybe he didn't know what he had actually gotten himself into. But he shouldn't have used it, not even in such desperation. "Lily, we have to get out of here," Jowan said, "I can't hold them for long!"

"By the maker... blood magic," Lily gasped, most likely staring at Jowan in shock. "How could you? You said you never-"

"I admit it, I dabbled! I... I thought it would make me a better mage!"

"Blood magic is evil, Jowan. It... it corrupts people. It changes them." 

"I'll give it up! All magic! Please, Lily, I... I just want to be with you!" 

_Pretty crazy thing to do in order to be with a girl, in my opinion,_ Nerysse thought.

"No. I... I trusted you. I was ready to give up my life, _everything_ for you... I... I don't know who you are, blood mage. Stay away from me."

Jowan ran. Nerysse could hear his footsteps, barely see where he ran. He was going to live through this, become an apostate... just as she had feared.

Nerysse forced herself to stand the moment that she felt the spell wear off. She couldn't say a word, she just simply stared at the path that Jowan had taken in shock. He actually left. He was gone, an apostate, a blood mage. He had lied to her. He had lied to them all. She wasn't the one who betrayed him. Not anymore. He was the betrayer, now.

She didn't even hear what was said between the First Enchanter, the Knight-Commander, and Lily. When she was asked if she took anything from the repository, she mindlessly answered "no." Then her fate was being discussed, and she barely heard a word of it. She caught the general idea, however. Duncan conscripted her, or at least threatened to. She didn't hear if it was agreed to by the First Enchanter and Knight-Commander or not, but either way, the outcome was the same. She was going to become a Grey Warden.

_A Grey Warden._

"Pack your things," she heard Duncan say to her, "We will be leaving in a few hours."

Nerysse did as she was told. She just couldn't think anymore. Her life had changed completely for the second time.

_Medren, I don't know if you can hear me. But I don't know what to do anymore. I'll try to write whenever I can. I'll make you, and everyone in the family, proud. I'm going to become a Grey Warden._


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: This chapter is long. Just as a warning. It's about as long as the first two chapters combined. It's the City Elf origin story, so it hints at rape and all that amazingly wonderful stuff. Oh, and I admittedly used a lot of dialogue from straight out of the game, though this chapter isn't as bad as chapter five will be.

* * *

_I had known from the beginning that that day was going to change my life forever. The way that it played out, it changed my life in a way I didn't expect. And yet, no matter how horrible the events of that day... I have never regretted my decisions regarding it. I have never looked back on that day and thought "I wish this had gone differently." No, I've always believed that what happened that day was for the best. Always._

"Cousin, wake up!" Were the first words Chisa heard that morning, feeling herself being shaken. She had been sleeping - having a nice dream, at that - and she was being so rudely woken up by her cousin, Shianni. Her wedding, to a man she had never met, wasn't supposed to be for another three days yet.

Nelaros, she had been told his name was. An elf from Highever. And her father had apparently paid a relatively large sum of money in order to have him travel to Denerim. Because it "wasn't safe" for Chisa to travel, even though Chisa was the only elf in the alienage who knew anything of fighting.

And she had been told specifically not to make her betrothed aware of the fact that she had ever been trained in the art of fighting. Because that would cause trouble. Why would it cause trouble, anyway? She only knew the theory behind fighting; the one honest battle she had been in had been more of a joke than anything. And anyway, knowing how to fight wasn't the only oddity about her. About a year before that day, she had her face tattooed. Nothing as extravagant as the tattoos that the Dalish elves had. No, she would have never been able to deal with such a thing. She got enough odd looks from the other elves of the alienage and the guards, but she was proud of her defining mark.

"I'm awake, Shianni, I'm awake," Chisa replied with slight frustration as she sat up. "What time is it, anyway? Based on the light coming in through the window... it's about noon, isn't it? If you were going to wake me up like that, wouldn't it have been better to do it earlier?"

"We all thought you deserved it," Shianni replied with a smile. "You... _do_ know what's happening today... right?"

"What, is there a rehearsal today or something? I didn't think you would actually insist on that. The wedding's in three days, remember?"

"No, no, the weddings are happening today! Your groom is here early!"

Chisa forced herself not to groan in annoyance. "I... see. And that means that we have to have it today?"

"The earlier, the better, cousin! And don't sound so unenthusiastic about it; I snuck a peek; he's absolutely _handsome_."

"Looks aren't everything. I don't even know him. But it's not worth arguing at this point. We both need to get ready then. I can't believe that you all just decided that hey, since Nelaros is here early, why not have the wedding the same day that he arrives? I mean, he obviously won't need time to recover from the journey here..."

"Actually, he got here last night, after you returned home. When I came by to tell you, you were already asleep."

"Oh. I see. That makes it _so_ much better." Chisa sighed. "Well, I really should get ready, I suppose. They can't marry me off to a man I've never seen before if I'm not there... I think."

"Oh, come on, cousin! Weddings are so much fun! There'll be music, decorations, feasting..."

"And humans, especially those damned noblemen, lurking about, ready to interrupt the festivities. You remember what happened _last_ time."

"But this time will be different, I promise."

"Because _obviously_, a double wedding will be less likely to get their attention." Chisa just shook her head. "Well, I really don't have a choice in the matter; I'm getting married today, and that's that. Father has been telling me anything and everything that I'll need to know, what to do... _everything_. I can't say I'm not prepared. Now you leave. This isn't getting done any earlier while I'm standing around chatting."

"That's the spirit... sort of. But it's like you say; I should go. You know, meet up with the other bridesmaids, find my dress... that sort of thing." As Shianni began to leave the room, she quickly turned back for a moment to add, "Oh, Soris said he'd be waiting outside for you."

"Okay," Chisa told her cousin. She watched as Shianni left.

At least _someone_ was excited about all of this.

Chisa knew that Soris was just as happy about being married as she was. And the worst part was that despite Shianni being older than both Chisa and Soris, they were the ones getting married first. It just didn't make sense. But what was logical wasn't necessarily what happened. No, Chisa would just have to deal with the reality of being married. Married to a man she had never met, probably only similar due to the fact that they were both elves.

She forced herself to stand, dreading everything that was going to come. Against the wall was a small chest where she had been able to keep her belongings. Laid out on top of it was her wedding dress. It was beautiful, at least in comparison to the things she had ever been able to wear. It wasn't anything too overdone. It was simple enough for her tastes, with just the right amount of decoration to say "hey, I'm the important person here!"

...She _really_ didn't want to get married.

After carefully putting on the dress, Chisa moved over to pick up her well-used brush. Her short, slightly reddish brown hair should have been easy to keep under control, but no matter how well she tried to take care of it, it was always a mess. She didn't need to have a mirror to know that much. Beyond the dress and her hair, she only had to grab the sharp knife from under her pillow (that her father didn't know that she even had there), and put it in her boot, like she did every morning. There was always a chance that something would go wrong, and she wasn't about to just let herself go down without a fight. Nelaros didn't have to know that she had it. He didn't have to know that she knew how to fight. But she had to have it; she would be horribly uncomfortable without it.

Once all of those preparations had been completed, Chisa went into the main room of the house, where her father was waiting. She smiled slightly as he caught sight of her. She couldn't hate him for wanting to see her married; he was her _father_ after all.

"My little girl," he said, sounding amazed. "I... I suppose that this is the last day I'll be able to call you that. You look great, Chisa. My only wish is that your mother could be here to see this..."

"Why today?" Chisa asked suddenly. "He's here early, I get that much. But why couldn't you have at least given me a day to get to know him, and have it, say, two days early, instead of three?"

"So that you had less time to run away, my child. And even if _you_ did not, Soris is even less excited about the arrangements, and therefore, we had to do what we could to keep _him_ from leaving."

"Oh, come on, Soris doesn't have the guts to run away by himself. And to be honest, I just want to meet Nelaros before I marry him. The only reason I'd run away was if he seemed as if he would be horribly abusive with no good traits to make up for it. But I doubt that. You have good judgment, father. You wouldn't have found someone for me who would be that bad, and I know it. But really, it's been bothering me that I don't know anything about the man I'll be spending the rest of my life with besides the fact that he's from Highever. Do you know anything else?"

"He's the youngest son from a good family in Highever. A skilled blacksmith, from what I'm told. Beyond that, I don't know. Appearance-wise, you can ask Shianni."

"She's already expressed her excitement on the matter. The wedding itself, and the fact that my betrothed is, as she describes, absolutely handsome. I suppose she would know best, wouldn't she..."

"Anyway, Chisa, it's time for you to go find Soris. We need to get this wedding underway as soon as possible."

"Because otherwise Soris will run away, I know, I know." Chisa smiled slightly again. Despite how much she didn't really want to go through with the wedding, she knew she had to. "I'll see you later then, father."

Out the door, into the alienage. As always, people were wandering around, talking. Beggars, doing what they did best. But there was a different air around. It was the air of revelry, the joy of being blessed with two weddings on the same day. Just about everyone was happy, in their own way. And that was what Chisa loved about the alienage. Even though they were poor, and looked at as no better than dirt by many of the humans... they had a wonderful community. They looked after each other. And they were closer to each other than the humans in the main city. Even as more of an outcast, Chisa always felt comfortable in her home. She had never once truly considered leaving. She never wanted to live among the humans, or follow her childish fantasies of running away to the Dalish elves (though that didn't stop her from trying to study the Dalish culture when she had the opportunity). No, she had told herself that she would always live among the city elves, whether in Denerim or another city.

Well... there had been a few times she had considered leaving. Okay, more than a few. A _lot_ more than a few. Enough times for her father to have a good reason to be concerned about whether she would actually stay for her wedding or not. Maybe _that_ was why she and Soris were getting married before Shianni. Because the two of them had considered leaving so many times that some people might have actually thought that they were planning on doing just that.

Of course, people probably wouldn't have minded all that much if Chisa left. She _was_ the odd one out of the alienage, after all. She felt like she was the only one willing to do something about how the humans treated them. Shianni was the only other one who ever talked back, who ever had a look in her eye that threatened to do something, but Chisa was the only one who had ever acted on her impulse to do something about it. Chisa was the only one who had actually helped to fight the nobles who came.

It had been during the time of the Landsmeet earlier that year. The third year that the younger son of the Cousland family had gone to try to defend the elves. The first year, he had succeeded. The second, he had gotten incorrect information. But that year, he had been there every night to make sure that nothing went wrong. And he had been losing the battle. Chisa, of course, had been watching. When she saw him losing the fight as badly as he was, getting as injured as he was, she joined in. She helped to drive them off, and the Teyrn's son had admitted that he would have definitely lost, and potentially gotten himself killed, without her help. She had fought back, and been successful. If only the others were at all willing to follow her example.

Although telling her that Soris would be waiting outside was a very vague description, Chisa knew where the younger of her cousins would be waiting. There was just that spot, the one location where someone in the alienage was almost certain to find Chisa or one of her cousins. Or a combination of the three. As Chisa approached, Soris greeted her. "Well, if it isn't my lucky cousin," he spoke, moving away from the building that he had been leaning on. "Care to celebrate the end of our independence together?"

"Were we ever _really_ independent, anyway? Just saying. Anyway, it'll be all right. We'll get through it, and hopefully, it won't be too bad. I'm just as _excited_ as you are," Chisa replied.

"You have every reason to be excited. Shianni said that your groom is a dream come true. My bride sounds like a dying mouse."

"Shianni says a lot of things. And she couldn't be _that_ bad."

"Yes, she could be. But no matter. Let's go introduce you to your _dreamy betrothed_ before you say 'I do.'"

Chisa sighed. There was no point trying to remind Soris that she didn't care about looks, that he probably had the better person anyway. Soris was marrying one of the girls who had been raised in the orphanage, who, like Soris, had to have her marriage arranged by the elder. Soris had had the chance to meet his wife-to-be many times already, so even if he didn't like her much, he had enough time to come to terms with the arrangement... not to mention that Valendrian had said that if there was absolutely no way that they would be compatible with each other, one or both could approach him and ask for things to be changed. Considering that the marriage was still going to happen, Soris probably liked her more than he let on.

Chisa, on the other hand, was marrying a man from Highever. From what she understood, the alienage there was quite nice, with the local nobles being friendly (she was quite familiar with how nice Highever's nobles were), and therefore, he would have difficulty adjusting to the lifestyle of Denerim's alienage. There wasn't much that a blacksmith could do in Denerim; sure, he could try to get a job in one of the shops in the Merchant Quarter, but he would probably be little more than a simple assistant. In the end, they would probably go back to Highever so that they could actually _live_. Which Chisa didn't want. Just because the nobles there weren't about to grab elves off the street to "have fun" with didn't mean that she would enjoy life there. She wouldn't have real family. She would have to meet new people.

And yet, she wouldn't necessarily be an outcast.

_No_, she told herself. She could not leave her home behind, not unless it was _absolutely_ necessary. Denerim was her home. Her father had paid for Nelaros to marry her in _her_ home, even though Nelaros' family could have paid for her to be sent there. She understood the logic behind the dowry, even if it wasn't the most cheery thing in the world. A monetary payment and loss of a child for one family, and loss of money and a new family member for the other. It wasn't particularly fair, but it made enough sense.

"Let go of me, please!" Suddenly, the voice of a scared woman cut through the normal sounds of the alienage. Chisa went from the walking pace she had been using to a run in order to see what was going on. A few elven woman were gathered, facing towards Chisa and Soris. In front of them were three human men, one of whom Chisa recognized as one of the nobles that she had helped Medren fight that one time. Chisa frowned. She had told Shianni that something would go wrong, and her cousin hadn't believed her.

"It's a party, isn't it?" The noble replied in that sickening way that most nobles spoke, "Grab a whore and have a good time." He laughed, and turned his head towards where Shianni stood among the women. "Savor the hunt, boys. Take this little elven wench here... so young and vulnerable..."

He began to approach Shianni, who clearly appeared displeased. "Touch me and I'll gut you, pig!" She exclaimed. That was what Chisa loved about Shianni. She didn't run away when she was in danger like most of the other women. Even if she didn't go so far as to literally fight back, she sure made it seem like she would.

"Please, my lord! We're celebrating weddings here!" One of the men on the side said. That wouldn't go over well. No, begging nobles like that would only encourage them.

The nobleman looked at the elf who just spoke. "Silence, worm!" He shouted, and proceeded to knock the man to the ground.

Chisa took a step forward to get involved, when Soris stopped her. "Look," he whispered, "I know what you're thinking, but maybe we shouldn't get involved..."

"Objection noted," Chisa replied. "Now, get out of my way and let me do what I need to do."

"Can we at least try to be _diplomatic_?" Soris asked. His request went almost unheard to Chisa as she moved forward.

"You!" Chisa shouted angrily, "get out of here, now!"

"What's this?" The noble asked, turning to look at Chisa. Getting a clear look at his face, she was able to recognize him as the one that Medren had referred to as Vaughan. "Another lovely one to keep me company?" Then, his face became a deep frown. "_Oh_. I remember you. Overconfident, aren't you, without the Cousland boy here to protect you?"

"It was two against at least ten, maybe even fifteen. One on three? I can handle that, no problem," Chisa replied with a smile.

Vaughan scoffed. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Oh, yes. You're a noble, who thinks he can do whatever he wants and then complain to mommy and daddy if something goes wrong. I have no respect for you, _shem_." Chisa spat out that last word. She almost never used it, despite how often Shianni or any of the others used it to describe any human. It sounded too dirty, in her opinion, and so she reserved it for the worst humans.

Chisa realized that as she spoke, Shianni ran off to grab an empty bottle. Just as Chisa finished her statement, Shianni smashed the bottle against Vaughan's head, knocking him out. Chisa would definitely have to congratulate her cousin on a job well done.

"Are you insane?" One of Vaughan's henchmen exclaimed. "This is _Vaughan Urien_, the arl of Denerim's son!"

That mattered very little to Chisa. So what if he was a noble; he brought it upon himself. But Shianni was clearly distressed, considering how Chisa heard her mutter, "W-what? Oh, Maker..."

"Well that's great for him," Chisa replied venomously. "Now I'd suggest you take your precious arl's son away from here and stay away for the rest of the day. I can't promise that it'll just be a bottle to the head next time."

"You've a lot of nerve, knife-ears. This'll go badly for you."

Chisa ignored the men as they picked up Vaughan's unconscious body and walked away. They would be back, most likely. Nothing was ever as easy as just hitting a guy in the head with a bottle.

"I really messed up this time," Shianni whispered loud enough to be heard.

"Don't worry," Chisa replied. "He won't admit to having been taken down by an elf. He certainly didn't after last time."

"I... hope so. I should go get cleaned up." Shianni walked away to take care of that.

"Is everyone else all right?" Soris asked.

"I think we're just shaken," one of the women replied. "What was that all about?"

"It looks like the arl's son started drinking a little too early today," Soris replied with a slight laugh. "Anyway, um... let's not let this ruin the day. Chisa, this is Valora, my betrothed." He gestured to the woman who had just spoken.

Chisa noted a man standing right next to Valora, and looked at him. "I assume that this young man is Nelaros?"

"I am indeed," he replied. She had to admit; he _was_ handsome. Of course, that didn't mean that she would automatically like him. "I've heard a lot about you, from Soris and others. Some of it was even positive," he added with a laugh.

"Hey, I was just trying to give you a suitable chance to run," Soris replied, smiling. "Anyway, I'm sure you two have a lot to discuss. I'll leave you to it."

Soris and Valora moved to a different area in order to allow Chisa and Nelaros to speak. "So... um... what's life like in Highever?" Chisa asked.

"It can be a bit of a mess sometimes. The Teyrn's younger son often comes by the alienage there. He's much kinder than... well, you know. Highever is smaller than Denerim, though, so the guards around don't change quite as often. They're nowhere near as kind, and will often risk punishment in order to..."

"I... see. Well, here in Denerim, the local nobles love coming around here, and many of the guards tend to try to get stationed here. Never seen the king, though; I doubt that his wife or any of his advisors let him come by for multiple reasons. I've heard he's a good person, and so if he saw how horrible conditions are here, he'd probably try to change it, and none of the nobles would want that. Well, very few of them."

"Most likely, Lord Medren is the only who would agree with such a motion. From what I've heard, the rest of the Cousland family does not share as strong of an opinion as Lord Medren."

"What do you think makes him like that, though? If he's been raised to not be particularly fond of elves, or at least to think of us as way below him, why is he so friendly?"

"I think it's because of how he was treated in Highever. His skin is very sensitive, and so he can't go outside for very long unless it's cloudy or he applies a skin cream of sorts that he often complains about. Many of the humans within the city are overly nice to him because of it, and it seems to annoy him. We elves don't really treat him any differently, though. There's the extra respect because he's one of the local nobles, but to be honest, the first time any of us saw him, we had no idea who he was. We treated him perhaps a little bit friendlier than we did most humans because he appeared to have money, which, as you might imagine, everyone desperately needed. But beyond that, it was the same treatment as any human. He seemed to respect that, and started to come by the alienage whenever possible to become more acquainted with us."

"So you know him pretty well, I'd imagine."

"Yes, I think I was one of the people who had gotten to know him the best. As you may be aware, I'm a blacksmith; he had actually commissioned a sword from me at one point. It was quite an honor. Before I left to come here, he wished me a safe journey, and also warned me that you might be a bit difficult to handle." Nelaros chuckled. "I can see where he got that bit. He never mentioned that you two ever fought alongside each other, though."

"Well... it _is_ against the law for an elf in the Denerim alienage to have a weapon, and I kind of _had_ one. I also bet he's too embarrassed to admit that I saved his ass that night."

"He also had a wedding gift for you. I left it with your father, though."

"Really? Now _that's_ not something I would have expected from a noble, even him. ...Great, that means I'll probably have to send a thank-you note. That'll be a pain."

Suddenly, Soris and Valora came over to where they were talking. "Come on, cousin," he said. "We should let them get ready."

"We'll see you two in a bit," Valora told Chisa and Soris. "Don't disappear on us."

"Or we'll come find you," Nelaros added with a smile.

"I wasn't planning on disappearing," Chisa replied, also smiling.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. At least she and Nelaros had something in common: they both respected the man known as Medren Cousland. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Some more time was spent talking to Soris and some of the other people in the alienage. Whether they really cared or not, almost everyone was attending the event, Chisa realized. It was a big enough deal when one person was getting married; two weddings in one day caused quite a commotion. The people who didn't care as much kept their distance, however, and so Chisa and Soris were mainly greeted by those who were happy for them.

Eventually, however, they knew it was time for the ceremony to begin, and so they approached the stage. Valora and Nelaros, along with everyone else needed for the wedding other than Chisa and Soris, were already there. "Soris, there you are!" Valora exclaimed when they arrived. "I was afraid you'd run off."

"No, no, I'm here, with Nelaros' blushing bride in tow!" Soris replied with a smile as he and Chisa took their positions.

"You look radiant," Nelaros said quietly to her. He had probably just forgotten to compliment her before while they were busy discussing respectable people. Either that or politeness had simply slipped his mind. Chisa hoped it was the former.

"It looks like everyone's ready," Soris said. Chisa wasn't sure who he was saying it _to_, but he said it. Chisa said nothing in return, simply giving her cousin a nod in acknowledgement.

Valendrian then began to speak. "Friends and family, today we celebrate not only this joining, but also our bonds of kin and kind. We are a free people, but that was not always so. Andraste, the Maker's prophet, freed us from the bonds of slavery. As our community grows, remember that our strength lies in commitment to tradition and to each other."

Mother Boann then stepped forward. "Thank you, Valendrian," she said. "Now, let us begin. In the name of the Maker, who brought us this world, and whose name we say in the Chant of Light, I-"

The commotion in the audience caused everyone on the stage to turn to see just what was going on. It was the _last_ thing that they needed, but Chisa had expected it. Vaughan was back with his two henchmen from before, and he had about a dozen armed guards with him. She bit her lower lip. It was not odds that she could easily handle. "Milord," Mother Boann said, "this is... an unexpected surprise."

Vaughan pushed his way up onto the stage. "Sorry to interrupt, Mother, but I'm having a party and we're _dreadfully_ short of female guests." He began laughing. Chisa knew exactly what was coming, lifting her foot up in preparation to kick or grab her knife.

"Milord, this is a wedding!" Mother Boann shouted angrily.

"Ha! If you want to dress up your pets and have tea parties, that's your business. But don't pretend that this is a proper wedding." At that point, all of Vaughan's men had made their way onto the stage, as well. Chisa was afraid, but she refused to show it. She wouldn't likely be able to handle fifteen men, not on her own. But she had to be brave. She had to be an example as to how her people _should_ act, how they should stand up for themselves. She wouldn't just sit back and let herself be taken. Then, Vaughan spoke again. "Now, we're here for a good time, aren't we boys?"

One of Vaughan's henchmen from earlier spoke up in response as he laughed in a way that made Chisa shudder. "Just a good time with the ladies, that's all." The other man from before simply laughed.

"Let's take these two," Vaughan said, gesturing at the bridesmaids other than Shianni, "the one in the tight dress," he gestured towards Valora, "and... where's the bitch that bottled me?"

"Over here, Lord Vaughan!" Called out one of the henchmen. Chisa was losing track of which one was which; they sounded similar, and looked way too much alike for her liking. From her position, she could do nothing as the man grabbed Shianni.

"Let me go, you stuffed-shirt son of a-" Shianni shouted as she began to fight back, but was promptly interrupted by Vaughan.

"Oh, I'll enjoy taming her." The nobleman turned to look at Chisa. "And see the pretty bride..."

"Don't worry," Nelaros whispered to Chisa, "I won't let them take you!"

"I can handle myself. I know how to fight, and I'm not afraid to use that knowledge," Chisa said in response.

As Vaughan approached her, she responded with an attempt to kick him. Much to her dismay, she missed, and was quickly surrounded by some of the guards. She was roughly hit in the back of the head and knocked down. She felt her consciousness slip, the last things she heard being the screams of the other women.

* * *

"Maker keep us; Maker protect us. Maker keep us; Maker protect us."

"Stop it! You're driving me insane!"

Chisa slowly opened her eyes, hearing the commotion around her. She wasn't on the wooden stage in the alienage. No, she was on some kind of a stone floor. Of course; Vaughan had captured all of the women at the wedding. Chisa began to sit up, hearing Shianni speak, "Oh, thank the Maker you've come to. We were so worried..."

"All right then, those humans will all find themselves dead within the hour," Chisa murmured to herself.

"Glad to see you've still got some fight in you," Shianni smiled.

"They locked us in here to wait until that... bastard is 'ready for us.'" Valora explained.

"Well I don't know about any of you, but I'm not going down without a fight," Chisa replied. "I'll kill the first human that walks in the door."

"We're five unarmed women!" One of the bridesmaids replied. "What makes you think that we can kill anyone?"

The other bridesmaid suddenly began to speak once again, "Maker keep us; Maker protect us. Maker keep us; Maker protect us..."

"Great!" Shianni exclaimed, "This again."

Chisa stood up, "We can't just sit around and let them have their way. We have to fight back, or at least do something to show them that they can't get away with whatever they want to do just because they're bigger than us."

"No," the bridesmaid who wasn't praying replied, "We should just do what they want, go home, and then try to forget that this ever happened!"

"She's right," Valora said. "It'll be worse if we resist."

"It'll be worse if we don't!" Shianni argued. "I'm with Chisa on this one."

"Someone's coming!" The bridesmaid told them.

"Do what you think best," Chisa instructed. "I'm going to resist. You can be cowards and go with them if you want."

The door opened. Some guards entered. They were all armed, clearly prepared for someone to fight back. So they weren't completely stupid, after all. "Hello wenches," the group's leader said. "We're your escorts to Lord Vaughan's little party."

"Stay away from us!" The praying bridesmaid exclaimed. The head guard took a step forward and drew his sword, simply slashing it at the woman. She fell back, dead.

"You killed her!" The other bridesmaid shouted.

"I suppose that's what happens when you try teaching whores some respect." The guard captain then turned to the other guards. "Now, you grab the little flower cowering in the corner. Horace and I'll take the homely bride and the drunk. You two, bind the last one. She's the scrapper."

Shianni, Valora, and the bridesmaid were taken then, Shianni's attempt at resistance having easily been ignored by the guards. The final two guards approached Chisa once the others had done what they needed to. "Don't worry; we'll be perfect gentlemen," One of them said to her.

"Now, you heard the captain," the other continued, "Be a good little wench or you'll end up like your friend, there."

"Try it," Chisa said with a friendly smile. "Let's see what parts you lose, first."

"Hah, Horace was right! She _is_ a scrapper!" One of the guards exclaimed, sounding almost pleased. Chisa bent down to grab her knife out of her boot. It wasn't much, but it was something. She had fought against more than two with just that knife, after all.

She moved into a defensive stance as the two guards unsheathed their weapons. What Chisa didn't expect was hearing two sudden thunks, followed by the guards falling to the ground. There stood Soris, wielding a wooden floorboard. Without a second thought, Chisa bent over and slit the guards' throats.

"I... can't believe they killed her! Are you all right? They didn't hurt you, did they?" Soris asked

"They're not strong enough," Chisa replied with a smile, "Of course, you really saved me there; I doubt I would have been able to handle that alone."

"Thank the Maker! Hopefully we can still save the others."

"We'll need to hurry."

"Nelaros is guarding the end of the hall. Let's figure this out with him."

"Nelaros is here?"

"Yes, he's the reason we're here. He lost it on the people who just wanted to 'hope for the best.' I... didn't know what to do."

"You've made the right choice in my opinion. Did you have to fight many guards to get in here?"

"We snuck in, although Nelaros did take down a guard armed only with a kitchen knife duller than yours. He's a savage fighter."

"Definitely a good match for me then. Let's hurry. We'll see if we can find better equipment as we go - for now, you take this guy's club and shield and I'll take the other's longsword and pair it with my knife. Lead the way, Soris."

Running down the hall to get to Nelaros involved the killing of quite a few guards. Not that Chisa minded, of course; it was more practice, which would be useful when they got to wherever Vaughan was. When she had decided that he would die within the hour, she meant it.

Then, they reached the room at the end of the hall. There stood Nelaros, along with three guards. If they had gotten there just a few moments sooner, he may not have had to die. The moment that Chisa ran into the room, weapons unsheathed, ready to run the guards through, Nelaros was killed, right before her eyes. She hadn't been excited about marrying him in the first place, even if it was clear that they would get along well, but she had never wished death upon him.

"Nelaros..." Soris muttered. "I-I'm so sorry..."

"He died to save me..." Chisa whispered, shocked. She bent down to look at his fresh corpse, trying not to cry over a man she hardly knew. She couldn't help but pick up the gold ring he had, deciding she would keep it in order to remember what happened. She slipped it onto her finger as she stood back up. "Let's go. We need to save the others. Nelaros won't have died in vain."

"Yes, of course."

More and more guards were slain, bringing Chisa and Soris closer to their goal. Thankfully, the hallway was relatively straightforward. There were a few side rooms that they entered, picking up whatever they could find from inside chests and other things. Eventually, they arrived in the room where Vaughan and his two henchmen (who were probably lesser nobles, Chisa realized) were. Shianni was there too, clearly afraid. It appeared there had been some fighting going on, the men's faces appearing to be scratched up slightly. Chisa wasn't certain how much had happened; perhaps they had just finished with whatever they had decided to do to Shianni, or maybe nothing had happened at all by that point. Either way, Chisa wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Chisa and Soris' entrance was clearly obvious to Vaughan, considering how he turned to look at them. "Well now, what have we here?"

"We'll make short work of these two," one of the henchmen said.

"Silence, idiot! They're covered in more than enough blood to fill at large tub. What do you think that means?"

"It means all of your guards are very _dead_, and we want to see the women you kidnapped returned to the alienage. _All_ of them. I might just let you live if you agree quickly and quietly," Chisa replied.

"Considering that you're here, and from my own past experiences, you obviously have quite a bit of skill. We could fight, and you might just manage to kill me. But what would that do for you? My father wouldn't let you get away with that. Your alienage would be burned to the ground. Or... you could just leave, with forty sovereigns added to your purses. You can take the money and leave Denerim tonight, and there'll be no problems. Your women will be returned in the morning, and everyone'll be happy," Vaughan explained.

"_Riiiight_. And after all this trouble, you expect to pay me to leave you alone? I may be poor, but I won't throw away my pride for any amount of money. You're just scared. I've fought you once, and won. Soris and I have killed many of your guards, and although we're injured, we're not done yet. If you thought you could take us on, you would have attacked us the moment we entered the room. We would have been unrested, for one thing, and that would have made it easier. You have the advantage, anyway. You're three humans, and we're two elves. You're bigger than us, and you have numbers to your advantage. If you fought us in that situation, you would have been able to have your way in the end, and keep your forty sovereigns. Are you honestly afraid? We're exhausted, after all. We're injured, inexperienced, and haven't had any of the training you've certainly had."

"How dare you accuse me of being afraid! I am _not_ afraid of you knife-ears, and I see now that you're unable to accept kindness where you should!"

"Prove to me that you're not a coward, then."

"Wait, Chisa, just a moment," Soris said. "What if... what if he's right? What if they purge the alienage again?"

"They will no matter what we do. If we leave and accept the money, there's still the issue of how we killed all of those guards. Do you really trust a human to ensure that there are no problems? He wants us to leave Denerim, Soris. He wants to ensure that we're not here when he causes problems, because he's not strong enough to stop us. But look, I understand if you don't want to take the blame for any of this. I'll understand if you choose to stay back and not do anything this fight. I may think of you as a bit more of a coward than I used to, but hey, I'll forgive you at least."

"I'll... stand by you, Chisa. You're right."

"Bah!" Vaughan exclaimed, "I shouldn't have bothered to even try to talk to you stupid knife-ears!" He drew his sword, moving into an offensive stance.

Chisa quickly examined her surroundings, seeing an opportunity to dart into the shadows and stay hidden. If she did that, she would be less likely to be seen, and she could get a clean hit on any one of the three. Soris was the one with the better protection, after all; he would be okay for a time while she moved into position.

She quickly hid, easily confusing her enemies. They must have been extremely stupid if they couldn't find her; she wasn't _that_ good at hiding after she had already been seen. She positioned herself behind the arl's son and stabbed at his back with the sword she had been using.

He screamed in pain, but Chisa wasn't done with her attack. She twisted the sword, and stuck her knife into his back as well. She wasn't sure where she hit, but it didn't matter. His wounds were too deep (and the sword had probably gone all the way through, considering how far forward her hand had gone when she stuck it in), so even if he didn't die right away, he would end up bleeding to death. All the better. He deserved worse, perhaps to be beheaded, but she decided against it. Do the humans a service and at least leave his body in one piece.

With Vaughan's death ensured, Chisa moved on to help Soris make quick work of the other two. It couldn't have taken very long; not with strikes to the right places.

"Th-they're dead," Soris said, breathing heavily. "Tell me we did the right thing, cousin."

"We did. There's no way that it couldn't be the right thing."

"I... hope you're right. I... I'll go check the back room for the others. Shianni needs you right now."

Chisa nodded, watching Soris rush over to the door on the other side of the room. Chisa knelt down next to her other cousin, helping Shianni to sit up.

"D-don't leave me alone," Shianni said, sounding absolutely terrified, with tears starting to form in her eyes. "Please... please, take me home..."

"Are you able to walk?" Chisa asked softly.

"I... I think so." At that point, it was as if Shianni just saw the blood covering Chisa's clothes. "You... killed them, right? You killed them all."

"Yes, Shianni. Like the dogs that they are."

"Good. Good." After saying those two words, Shianni passed out. But she was _alive_. That was what was important.

At that point, Soris came back with Valora and the bridesmaid who had not been killed. "Is... Is she going to be all right?" Valora asked as she walked over.

"It looks like it," Chisa replied, "We'll have to carry her out, though, but that shouldn't be much of a problem."

"Shianni's strong," Valora said with a smile, "She'll recover."

"We... should go. Soon. As in, now," Soris suggested.

"Yes, let's get out of here. I've had more than enough of this place," Chisa replied.

"I'll take the rear." Quietly, Soris added, "I can't wait to leave this place."

The walk back to the alienage was thankfully uneventful beyond Shianni waking up. Once they arrived in the alienage, Valora and the bridesmaid took Shianni back to Chisa's house right away. Chisa and Soris stayed by the gate.

"I can't believe we managed to do that," Soris said. "I mean... I just thought that Nelaros was getting ahead of himself, that there was no chance that we would succeed, but I went with him anyway. And... I know that he..."

"Yes, he's dead," Chisa replied. "But he did a great thing. He gave you the opportunity to get to me in time, so that we could save the others before Vaughan got to all of them. Someday, I'll have to go to Highever and tell his family what happened... I'll make sure that I do."

Soris opened his mouth to speak again, but was interrupted by some guards approaching the alienage through the gate they were standing near.

"Don't. Run." Chisa said softly. "They know what we did, and they've seen us. And even if they don't know what we did, we're covered in blood and have weapons on our backs. There's nothing we can do to stop what's going to happen now."

Soris simply nodded. The guards entered the alienage, their stares fixed on Chisa and Soris. "You two are the ones who killed Lord Vaughan," one of the guards stated. "I suggest you come with us quietly so that we are not forced to harm you."

Chisa nodded, and closed her eyes, expecting to be grabbed roughly and dragged away somewhere or another. But what happened was different. She heard Valendrian's voice. "What is the matter, guards?" He asked.

"I'm sure you're aware that these two have been in the Arl of Denerim's estate. What you may _not_ be aware of, is that they killed Lord Vaughan Urien. Therefore, they are to be thrown into the Arl of Denerim's dungeons to be dealt with when he returns from Ostagar."

"I see. However, I have a letter here that arrived just earlier today concerning the woman you plan to imprison. You may wish to have a look at it."

Chisa opened her eyes slowly to see the guard carefully reading over the letter. He seemed to be murmuring the contents to himself. Clearly, he didn't like what he was reading, because a frown had begun to form on his face, and it kept on getting deeper.

After a time, he handed the letter back to Valendrian and said, "this is a genuine letter, yes. The woman is free to go. However, if she is not gone from this city and on her way to Ostagar by the time I do my rounds here tomorrow, I will ignore this Conscription and take her into custody anyway. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Ser," Valendrian replied. "I will ensure that she is gone by sundown."

"And this one," the guard placed his hand on Soris' shoulder, "is not covered by the letter. Therefore, he will still be taken into custody."

"I would not demand otherwise, Ser."

Chisa watched as the guards took Soris away. Once they were out of sight, she turned to the alienage's elder, "What was that about?"

"Three months ago, if you recall, a Grey Warden named Duncan came through the alienage looking for potential recruits. He asked me about you, seeing that you would have been a suitable Grey Warden. I explained that your wedding was in the process of being arranged. However, he and I spoke with your father, and it was decided that Duncan would leave us with a Letter of Conscription. Should something go wrong, he explained, we needed to only show the letter to the authorities and they would be forced to send you to Ostagar to assist the Grey Wardens there."

"So the letter didn't arrive today. You just said that it did."

"They certainly wouldn't have let you go if I told them that it had been sitting in my house for three months, now would they?"

"Point taken."

"I will go alert your father of the situation. I suggest that you go collect your things and say your good-byes. You will have to leave as soon as possible."

"Of course. Thank you. I'll do my best." Chisa ran off to her house. Her father probably had been forced out of the building, considering Shianni's condition. It wasn't her father that she wanted to see at that point, though. She would want to speak to him after everything was over, yes, but for the time, she wanted to apologize to Valora for not being able to save Soris, and she wanted to check on Shianni.

When Chisa entered the house, Valora approached her. "You look upset," she said. "Did something happen?"

"The guards came," Chisa explained. "Valendrian had a letter from the Grey Wardens that conscripted me, so I was safe. Soris... wasn't so lucky. If I had the chance, I would have told them that he didn't do anything, but they recognized both of us. There was no way to stop them from taking him."

"I... I understand. If there was nothing that could have been done..."

"I doubt they'll kill him right away. If I ever get the chance, I'll figure out a way to free him; I swear it."

"That's... more than I could ask of you. But... anyway, Shianni seems to have regained herself. I'll leave you two alone. I wish you luck as a Grey Warden, Chisa." Valora left the building, appearing somewhat upset, and yet not.

Considering how she didn't see her cousin at the time, Chisa assumed that Shianni was in the back. Therefore, she went to find her cousin.

"I heard what you said to Valora... it's too bad that nothing could have been done... poor Soris..." Shianni said quietly.

"I'll make sure I find a way to get him out of there someday. What sucks is that I have to go. Tonight. If I could stay longer, I would."

"Before you go, let me tell you something. You've always been there for me, but... what happened... was beyond what anyone could expect from another person. When the world was at its worst... I didn't expect that anyone would come; I thought that there was no reason to hope for anything. But then, you came, fire in your eyes, like something out of a storybook. I'll never forget what you did today." Shianni sighed. "I love you, cousin. Make us proud out there."

"I will, Shianni. And Shianni? I love you too."

"Oh, before I forget! When Nelaros first got here, he left a box with your father... said it was from the Teyrn of Highever's younger son, a wedding gift. It's over here... I think you should have it, even though the wedding didn't end well." Shianni picked up the small box from the table and handed it to Chisa.

Chisa stared at it for a few moments. The box was about the size needed for a piece of jewelry, perhaps a bit bigger. She was unsure of whether she was supposed to open it right then and there, or if she should wait until later, when she was alone, resting for the night.

"Come _on_, cousin, open it!" Shianni urged. Apparently, she was just as interested in the gift as Chisa.

Chisa opened the box, still uncertain of what to expect. When the top was removed, she noticed that there were three main things inside of the box. There was a note on the top, one that she would have to make sure she read. On the side, there was what looked like sovereigns; there couldn't have been many, but it didn't really surprise her that her noble friend had given her money. The third thing was not quite as easy to make out; she saw what looked like a chain underneath the note. Had he given her a necklace or something?

Before looking to see exactly what it was, she read the note:

_Chisa,_

_You know, I'd have started this out with 'Miss Chisa Tabris' or something like that, except for the fact that by the time you're reading this, you _should_ be going by a different name. For all the time I've known him, I've never actually learned what Nelaros' family name is, so that's why I'm not addressing you by it._

_Enclosed in this box is, as you can tell, this note. Along with it are fifteen sovereigns, which I hope will help you. Also, you may wonder what the pendant I've included is. Traditionally, a gold version of the pendant is given to the highest knights of Highever. Although I had to settle for silver (my father would not let me give you a gold one, for obvious reasons), I chose to give you a pendant in the same style to represent that you have earned my respect._

_I wish you well in your married life, and I hope you remember that you will always have a friend in House Cousland._

_--Medren_

Chisa stared at the note, surprised. After coming to terms with what had been said there (of course, she would have to let him know at some point that the wedding had been ruined), she removed the note from the box to look at the pendant.

At first, it looked as if it would be a simple chain with a charm on it that could be removed. Then, she realized, that if the charm was removable, the chain would just fall off the wearer. She had seen House Cousland's crest, before. She remembered how Medren's brother, the one time she had met him, carried a shield with the symbol of the laurels on it. But she had never considered how the laurels could be connected to the chain in the way that it was, making it a part of the chain.

And even though it wasn't made out of gold, it had been so carefully crafted that there was no way that it could possibly be seen as an imitation. Chisa carefully picked it up out of the box and put it on, feeling the cool metal touch her skin. Something about wearing it gave her a sense of pride. Pride that would hopefully give her an air of knowing what she was talking about, so that maybe people would listen to her. Yes, that was what she felt now that she wore the necklace.

"It's lovely," Shianni commented.

"It is," Chisa agreed. "If I ever see him again, I'll have to thank him. But now... now, I have to pack my things, and change into something that isn't so bloody. Then, I have to figure out just how I'm supposed to get myself to Ostagar."

It was exciting, the fact that she was going to become a Grey Warden. And at the same time, it was terrifying. First, there was the fact that there would be nobles collected at Ostagar. The king, for one, not to mention Arl Urien. The camp would consist mostly of humans, with elves acting as servants. The Grey Wardens, as well, would be mostly human.

But she would be strong. She would be able to handle it, no matter what happened. After all, a large group of humans couldn't be _that_ bad. There would be places to hide. And from her own experience, there were humans who were _nice_ and _helpful_. Clearly, this Duncan fellow had to be to have left an escape route for her.

All she had to do was speak with her father, and then go.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note:_ I didn't edit this chapter as carefully as some of the others - I'm very unfocused at the moment and just wanted to get this up. Hopefully nothing needs editing too much.

This chapter uses some stuff involving Nerysse and Medren's bond, and hopefully it's not too confusing. If it is confusing, please let me know. Any ideas of how to make it better would definitely be appreciated.

* * *

_You can't change the past. The number of times I've had to remind myself of that since that day upsets me. I still haven't come to terms with it. The fact that I was right there, that I could have done something, and yet I didn't... it haunts me still. And I lived. I lived, while all of them died. They died, to keep me alive, even when I could have possibly saved them. But I didn't, because they told me not to needlessly sacrifice myself. I regret it, and I think I always will._

Everything was quiet. _Too_ quiet. It bothered him. Nights were never that quiet, ever. Usually, Keine would be barking, or Oren would still be awake and running through the halls despite his parents' wishes. Guards would be patrolling. The occasional servant would be scurrying about. But not that night.

Fergus had left earlier in the day. His father had sent him ahead, because Arl Howe's men had been delayed. Fergus was sent ahead so that _someone_ got to Ostagar. Medren had insisted that because _he_ wasn't allowed to go, that Keine accompany Fergus. After much discussion on the matter, everyone had agreed; even the Mabari seemed willing to follow the plan.

Because Keine was gone, Medren didn't have the distraction of the dog in the room with him. Because Fergus had left, Oriana had insisted that Oren stay in the room and not wander the halls. But the fact that Medren didn't hear any guards in the hall bothered him. Maybe they were there and he just couldn't hear them because he was listening for them too hard. Yes, that had to be it.

He had to get his mind off of the eerie silence. Just because he had been suspicious of the fact that Arl Howe's forces were so delayed did _not_ mean that the Arl of Amaranthine was planning something. Just because that was what it felt like to _him_ did not mean that it was so. After all, he had felt that Arl Howe was suspicious for _years_, and nothing of that sort had happened yet.

Instead of worrying about that too much, he closed his eyes, in a weak attempt to sleep. Sleep, however, did not come to him. In its place, he saw through Nerysse's eyes what was happening to her.

_A map was spread out on the ground, with Nerysse looking at it. A man - Medren recognized him, though he wasn't completely sure why - stood next to her, and began to speak as he pointed at different locations on the map, "We will be traveling south through the hinterlands to the ruins of Ostagar, on the edges of the Korcari Wilds. The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It's fitting that we make our stand there, even if we face a different foe within that forest. The king's forces have clashed with the darkspawn several times, but Ostagar is where the bulk of the horde will show itself. There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of the others are there. This Blight must be stopped at Ostagar. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."_

Medren opened his eyes at the end of the short speech. Of _course_. Nerysse got to go get involved in the battle as well, _and_ she got to become a Grey Warden. There had to have been a good reason for her to be taken from the Circle and recruited into the Wardens, though. He doubted that she would have offered to join of her own free will. Battling darkspawn didn't seem like a hobby she would have. And considering the emotions that had been surging through the bond earlier in the day, it would have made sense if something had occurred.

_That_ was why he recognized the man. He was Duncan, the leader of the Wardens in Ferelden. He had been by Castle Cousland somewhat recently, having been there to look for a potential recruit. He had looked at Ser Gilmore, but the knight hadn't quite been up to par. Duncan had gone so far as to suggest that Medren would have been a good recruit, had his father been willing to let him go. But no, Medren was stuck in Highever. He was being given the _wonderful_ job of watching the castle while his father and brother were away. Even his mother would be leaving for a time. He wasn't interested in the power that being in charge of the castle temporarily gave him. But, he was being given the job, and so he would have to do it.

He wouldn't be sleeping at all that night, and he knew it. Therefore, instead of sitting around in his room trying to think about other things, he prepared to go walk through the castle's halls, and maybe make himself some more tea. He began to put on his armor, as he always did. Medren felt more comfortable knowing that he was protected in some way other than the guards around, especially when Arl Howe was in the area. He then picked up his sword, strapping it onto his back.

The next thing he did was open the door that led into the hallway. But what he saw then was... not what he expected, to say the least.

Usually, there were at least two Highever soldiers stationed at that end of the hall at all times. After all, not only did Medren have his bedroom there, but so did his parents, and Fergus' family. And even during the times that shifts were changing... the new guards went _there_ to tell the old guards that they were off duty. Unless...

What if some people had pretended to be the guards for the new shift, told the old guards that their shift was over, and then left?

Although unlikely, it was the only explanation Medren had to offer himself. And when a crossbow bolt was shot at him and missed, he knew that he might actually have been right. He turned in the direction that bolt had to have been shot from, and drew his sword. He loved the feeling of the heavy blade in his hands, but he had never had to use it in a real fight beyond the couple of times against some of the other younger nobles.

Then, Medren saw the man with the crossbow. Instantly, his eyes were drawn to the crest that the man bore: Arl Howe's crest. The man was a soldier from Amaranthine; Howe had to have betrayed them. It was just as Medren had suspected, as much as he hated to admit it.

As he prepared himself to rush forward and attack, he saw many more of Howe's men appear there. Far too many for him to take by himself. But he would fight. They were attacking _his_ hhohoh home while he could do something about it. He wasn't just about to let that , _his_ family. He wouldn't just let them get away with it.

But when they poured into the last portion of the hallway, Medren realized that they weren't all intent on attacking him. Some of them did. In fact, a good four or five of them did. But he watched as a few moved into Fergus' room, where Oren and Oriana were. And much as he wanted to go to protect them, he was blocked from going anywhere. He heard his sister-in-law and nephew scream as he fought Howe's men to keep himself alive. He couldn't do anything. He wanted to, but he didn't have the ability to.

Medren fought, feeling many blows hit him. He was thankful for his armor; despite it not being the most protective, it was enough to keep him safe enough assuming he moved fast enough. Being attacked by multiple opponents gave him an advantage, in a way. They were all aiming at him, and so their swords often would hit each other because their timing was just that horrible. Those moments gave him the chances that he needed to kill his enemies.

The group that had gotten to the end of the hall were dead; all of them, including the ones who had killed Oren and Oriana. Medren ensured that none of them escaped. He turned around when he heard a door open behind him, not expecting the sound.

Thankfully, it wasn't any more of Howe's men; it was his mother. "Darling!" She exclaimed, running over to him, "I heard fighting outside, and I feared the worst! Are you hurt?"

"I'll be fine. For now, I only have a few minor cuts and scrapes," Medren answered. "Did any of them get through to your room?"

"No. I was woken up by a scream and heard the fighting outside, so I barred the door just in case." She paused for a moment to look at the bloody mess that had been made. "Look at their shields! These are Howe's men! Why would they attack us?!"

"There seemed to be no good reason for Howe's men to be delayed," Medren's voice was almost a growl. "I don't know why Howe is doing this, but this has to have been planned. Fergus is gone, with a good chunk of our soldiers. Attacking us now would be to his advantage, due to the difference of numbers... this is probably all for political gain. They've already... I wasn't able to keep them from getting into Fergus' room... I'm so sorry, mother..."

"I... had a feeling when I heard the screams. Have you seen your father, Medren? He never came to bed..."

"I've been in my room since Fergus left. Didn't father go to speak with Howe at that point? It's doubtful that Howe would try something while there would be guards around, but..."

"We have to find him."

"From the sound of things, the battle is mainly downstairs. They're not going to go easy on us, so I'd suggest getting your armor and weapon quickly." In any other situation, Medren's words to his mother would have been considered extremely rude and inappropriate. But he would hopefully be forgiven for that, considering how the situation was not a normal one.

Thankfully, his mother could easily prepare herself for battle; she had come from a line of skilled warriors, after all, and therefore, she had received training in fighting and every other necessary skill that went with it. Medren also noticed that she had picked up some bandages when she had returned to her room. They would definitely be useful. Neither of them were expecting an easy battle.

Howe's soldiers were everywhere, and all of the servants were in a panic. Of course, such made sense, considering how none of them were trained to fight, and the castle had never been attacked before in any of their lifetimes. Medren was about to go to the front gates, when he realized something. "Mother," he said, "do you have your key to the treasury? At the very least, we can't let Howe get to the family sword."

"I always have it with me. And I was just thinking of that myself... but going to the treasury may be dangerous."

"Going anywhere at this point is dangerous. We can't leave this for very long, though. The door to the treasury won't necessarily hold, so we have to get there before Howe's men break into it."

He hurried towards the treasury. Thankfully, he knew the layout of the castle well enough that despite its state, he was able to navigate without a problem. Only a few of Howe's men were at the treasury by that time, and they were not expecting a fight. They were disposed of quickly, allowing the Teyrna to give Medren the key to the treasury so that he could get in.

There was quite a bit there, but far too much to carry. No, they were better off just leaving all of the coins and anything worth a decent amount of monetary value. But sitting in the middle of the room was a sword and shield. Both had been in the family for generations, and rarely removed from the treasury except during times of war. It was likely that his father would have taken the sword and shield before he left for Ostagar, had he actually had the chance.

But it was Medren's duty to carry the family blade, now. Even though he preferred combat with his heavy, two-handed blade, he had learned how to use a longsword and shield well enough. He did not unsheathe the sword, instead simply strapping it to his back alongside the sheath for his greatsword. The shield as well was placed upon his back. However, he knew that if he had the opportunity to face Howe in combat, he would trade out his preferred weapon for the family heirloom. It was what was right for him to do.

"We must focus on finding your father, now," Medren's mother said.

"Yes, I'm well aware. Where do you think we might be able to find him?"

"The front gates. He must be there."

"And if he isn't?"

"If he isn't... there won't be much time. Listen, darling, if we can't find your father, _you must_ get out of here, _alive_. Without you and Fergus, the entire Cousland line will die here. Not to ignore your sister, of course, but..."

"She is not allowed to carry titles, I know."

"But remember: If Howe's men are inside, they likely already control most of the castle. The servants' entrance in the larder will be our only hope of escape. No matter what, you must go there, whether we find Bryce or not. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, I understand. Howe _will _pay for this, but I know it won't necessarily be tonight. I will get out of here. I will survive. And I _will_ make him pay."

"Then let's go check the front gates for your father. Whether he is there or not, you know what to do."

Medren nodded. At the very least, it would likely be worth it to check the front gates. Even if his father wasn't there, more of Howe's men would be trying to get in through there. The knights, especially Ser Gilmore, were smart enough to know to hold them back.

Sounds of fighting came from the main hall. Medren heard an unexpected sound of chanting among them; chanting that meant _magic_, considering all the times he had been able to see what Nerysse was up to during her classes. What was a mage doing there? House Cousland had none as guests at the time, so it had to be with Howe's men.

Well, it would be a good time to test out if he really _was_ highly resistant to any magic coming from a person other than his sister.

Medren opened the door as he ran, not stopping for a rest or anything. There was no time; if Howe's men were fighting some of House Cousland's, it was his job to do what he could to help. After all, Howe had the advantage in so many different ways.

There were quite a few of Howe's men in the room, with about half as many Highever soldiers. Ser Gilmore was, thankfully, among them, and seemed relatively uninjured. Medren wasted no time in moving towards the mage, noticing that none of the Highever soldiers had been able to get towards the caster. He attempted to swing his sword at the mage, but his arms were getting tired of the motion with the heavy sword. He knew he needed to practice more, and it definitely was not a good time for that fact to make itself obvious. Dropping his preferred greatsword, Medren grabbed the lighter longsword off of his back, along with the shield.

That was certainly better. However, by that time, the mage had noticed him, and was casting a spell at him. He didn't have enough time to interrupt it, and felt a very weak jolt of a magical shock go through him. He barely felt it, though, even though he knew that that a spell such as that one was supposed to be stronger. He really _was_ resistant.

The lighter blade made attacking the mage into a much easier job. The mage's cloth robes made it very easy to dispose of the main threat, so that Medren could turn towards Howe's other soldiers in the area. Ser Gilmore and the other Highever soldiers were handling Howe's men well; in the time it took for Medren to kill the mage, the Highever soldiers had taken down quite a few of their opponents. It didn't take much longer for the rest of Howe's men to be slain.

"Go!" Ser Gilmore ordered the soldiers when the last of Howe's men fell, "Man the gate! Keep those bastards out as long as you can!" As Medren's mother came over to her son, Ser Gilmore turned to them and then said, "Your Ladyship! My Lord! You're both alive; I was certain Howe's men had gotten through!"

"A few of them did," Medren replied. "Not enough to be able to kill mother or myself, but... no one else was quite so lucky."

"And what of you, Ser Gilmore?" Medren's mother asked. "Are you injured?"

"Do not worry about me, your ladyship. Thank the Maker you two are unharmed." Ser Gilmore glanced towards the gate before he continued, "When I realized what was happening, it was all I could do to shut the gates. But it will not keep Howe's men out for long. If you have another way to get out, I suggest that you use it, and quickly!"

"Ser Gilmore, do you know where my father is?" Medren asked in a slight panic.

"When I last saw the Teyrn, he had been badly wounded. I urged him to not go, but he was determined to find you. I believe he went to the kitchen, hoping to find you at the servants' exit in the larder."

"Bless you, Ser Gilmore!" The Teyrna replied with renewed hope. "Maker watch over you!"

Ser Gilmore sighed. "Maker watch over us all..."

Without a second thought, Medren had rushed out of the main hall in the direction of the kitchen. They had to hurry; if his father was badly wounded like Ser Gilmore said, then they would have to get to him quickly in order to bandage the wounds, if that would even be enough to save him. There was no time for him to go back and retrieve his sword. He silently apologized to the friend who had made it, and forced himself to move on.

There were only a few of Howe's men that had gotten to the halls leading to the kitchen, and they were quickly disposed of when Medren and his mother found them. None had gotten to the kitchen; perhaps the Teyrn still had a chance. If all three of them could get out, it would be the best situation possible. That, of course, was assuming that Howe didn't have the castle surrounded, waiting for them to leave...

Medren forced the thought out of his mind. There was still a chance of survival.

There was the kitchen, right ahead. One door to get to the actual kitchen part. A second door to get them into the larder. Beyond the second door; that was where his father would be. Dead or alive, that was where Medren and his mother would find Bryce Cousland.

* * *

The emotions were not her own. The thoughts were not hers, either. But they were strong, overpowering even. They were Medren's emotions, Medren's thoughts. Something was happening for the bond to be forcing itself at her so much.

Thankfully, they had made their camp for the night. Even better was that she and Duncan did not travel alone; the mages who had agreed to assist the war effort were traveling with them. That included Wynne. If something was happening, Nerysse knew that she could go to her teacher to talk and try to come to terms with it.

She had to know. The emotions were strong enough; if she closed her eyes, she would likely be able to see, to feel. After all, it had happened for less in the past. She needed to know what was happening to upset him so much. Nerysse made sure that she was sitting down somewhere where she would be able to lay down if it became necessary. Once that was done, she closed her eyes.

She _had_ to know.

He was injured; she could tell that much. His vision was blurry, perhaps from the tears she felt on his face. Watching through the bond was such a strange thing - she felt like she was doing what he was, and yet she could feel what happened around her. But she had to focus on Medren's situation. In the camp, there would be little going on, and so she could allow herself to drown out everything other than what the bond could show her.

What bothered Nerysse was how her brother kept looking behind him, as if he expected to see something there. What bothered her even more was that he was _bleeding_. Just earlier that day, he had been happily drinking his tea. He had also been sending her feelings of suspicion.

Suspicion about what, she hadn't known, but perhaps it was related to the events that were causing him to run in the way that he was, for him to be so injured. And, for him to be so upset. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened, and she only wished she had closed her eyes earlier in order to know.

Medren stopped to rest, or so it seemed. He appeared to be outside of Castle Cousland, which was... burning? The castle clearly had been attacked, but who had done it and why was what was bothering Nerysse. Not to mention that Medren was alone; there was no sign of their parents, Fergus, or Fergus' wife and son. Perhaps they had all died in the attack. Medren certainly felt battered enough to have barely made it out.

Another person suddenly came into her - Medren's - vision. The man was a soldier, and based on the crest on his shield, he was a soldier from Amaranthine. Nerysse would have considered that to be a relatively friendly person in a normal situation, except for the fact that Medren tensed up, and all sorts of emotions of anger, fear, and pain surged through the bond. Had _Arl Howe_, a trusted ally to House Cousland, betrayed them? That was the only explanation for why Medren seemed so uncomfortable around the Amaranthine soldier.

Medren reached for his weapon. It wasn't his normal one, of that, Nerysse was certain. No, her brother preferred a larger blade, one wielded with both hands. But he was using a longsword and shield. She didn't know his reasons, but she didn't really need to. At the very least, her brother wasn't unarmed.

He ran to attack the soldier. Why he did that, Nerysse wasn't sure, because the moment he got too close, he was surrounded. He didn't have a chance, not against so many. But he tried. It was all Nerysse could do to try to send him energy through the bond, even though it probably wouldn't work. She wouldn't just let her brother die. Whatever she could do, she would do it.

But everything in her power wasn't enough. Medren was defeated, as was expected. But what happened... was not what was expected. They didn't kill him. They bound him. Up until that point, the vision through Medren's eyes had been somewhat vague, more pictures and feelings than anything else. But right then... right then, everything became completely detailed.

_Some of the soldiers moved, clearing a path for... someone. A low growl escaped Medren's throat as the person came through the path. Nerysse could easily put a name to the man, based on his relatively weird-looking face that just screamed evil - Arl Rendon Howe. Medren had never trusted the man, and it was clear why._

_"Oh, I see," Medren hissed. "Wanted to do the job yourself, did you? Maybe you should've been less of a coward and actually fought me yourself."_

_"You'll be living yet, boy," Howe replied._

_"What, too scared of my magic-wielding sister who would know in an instant if I died? Pretty pathetic to be afraid of someone who's cooped up in a tower all day and night except on very rare occasions, this time of the year not being one of them." But Nerysse knew through the bond that Medren was stating a lie. Clearly he knew that she had left._

_"No, as you say, there is no reason to be afraid of your sister. I have my own reasons for keeping you alive, although if you do not behave you may find yourself dead, just like your parents. Perhaps I should show you their corpses before we go. They are-"_

Nerysse didn't realize that she was crying until she opened her eyes. She didn't want to watch Medren be captured by a man that her parents had trusted. She didn't want to hear about her parents' deaths.

Then, Nerysse noticed the hand resting on her shoulder. She looked up towards whoever was there to see the face of her mentor. Thankfully it _was_ Wynne, and not anyone else who she wasn't as comfortable around. "What has happened, child?" Wynne asked gently.

"It's... my family. You know about the bond; you were one of the first to hear about it. Medren... he's... the only one left. Maybe Fergus is alive. He left the castle with Keine and most of the knights earlier today from what I recall, but... Mother and Father are dead, killed by a man they thought they could trust. Medren is now a prisoner of that same man, and I... can do nothing," Nerysse replied.

"You and your brother are both strong. He will be fine, for he has a fine sister to support him through all of this. You two are blessed with your bond, and therefore you should make the most of it."

"Thank you, Wynne," Nerysse whispered, trying to stop her tears. "And at the very least, I know what really happened, and therefore I can at least try to spread the truth."

"Yes. But it is very late. You must attempt to get some rest. Such is necessary on journeys such as this."

"Of course. I will try my best to get some sleep."


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note:_ I warn you now, this chapter contains very large amounts of dialogue taken from the game. I apologize for that, and I did my best to at least paraphrase it (or alter Nery's responses so that it's not totally boring). I'm not saying that this is all dialogue straight from the game. No, I'm not _that_ bad, or at least I like to think that I'm not.

Also, if you like this story, I'd really appreciate some reviews. Anonymous reviews are allowed, if you don't feel like logging in or making an account. I mean, seeing e-mails telling me that you've added my story to favorites or story alerts does make me feel happy, but I'd like to know a bit more about what people actually think of this so far.

* * *

_And so, the real part of my story began. Oh, sure, one could argue that my story began when I left the tower. I believe Ostagar was the true beginning, however, and everything before that simply an introduction. After all, I am remembered as a Grey Warden, not as a Teyrn's daughter or a mage._

The ruins of Ostagar loomed before them. Already, the other mages had gone ahead on the road in order to speak with those who had been there for a time already. Duncan had held Nerysse back, choosing to spend the time explaining more of what would be expected of her once they arrived. It was simple enough; her first task would be to rest and make herself relatively comfortable there. Duncan began to explain what her next task would be, when he was interrupted.

"Ho there, Duncan!" If Nerysse wasn't mistaken, the speaker was King Cailan himself. She, of course, had never met Ferelden's king, but she had seen him through the bond once or twice. It was very rare that Medren ever saw the king, though, so she knew little about him. Of course, even without recognizing the man from what she had seen through the bond, his golden armor certainly gave him away.

"King Cailan?" Duncan responded, sounding somewhat confused, "I didn't expect-"

"A royal welcome?" The king interrupted. "I was beginning to think you'd miss all the fun!"

Duncan sighed. "Not if I could help it, your Majesty."

"Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious! I heard you've found a promising recruit; I take it this is she?"

"Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty. This is-"

"There's no need to be so formal, Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together after all." Cailan turned to look at Nerysse, a smile still on his face. It amazed her how he could be so honestly happy despite the situation, but she tried to ignore it. "Ho there, friend!" It was odd, how he greeted her as if she hadn't been standing there the whole time. "Might I know your name?"

"I am Nerysse Cousland, your Majesty," she answered. "We may have met once before I was taken to the circle, but I do not believe that to be the case."

"Ah, you are Medren's twin, are you not? He speaks fondly of you. How is he? He's said that the sensing one another through your bond goes both ways."

"He is not well, your Majesty, although he is in a better situation than he could be. Highever Castle was attacked, you see, and... Medren is, to my knowledge, the only survivor. Even so, he was captured by the attackers, though for what reason, I am uncertain."

"W-what? Who did this?"

"I cannot be certain, your Majesty. It was a time of strong emotion for him, so I was able to see through his eyes by using the bond. It appears to be Arl Howe, or at least... someone with an unusual identicalness to the man. However, I do not know if the bond showed me events as they truly occurred, or if it somehow altered the vision to show something that I would recognize, or perhaps even something that Medren convinced himself it was. I am certain, though, that the castle was attacked, Medren taken prisoner, and... everyone inside, dead."

Cailan didn't respond for a few moments, most likely needing to think over what he just heard. But, the king asked her about her brother, and so she answered. She told him the truth of what she saw, and whether he believed her or not didn't matter. "I... can scarcely believe it, that he would even think that he would get away with such a thing. And yet... you do not seem like someone who lie about something like that, especially because you can gain nothing from it. As soon as everything is done here... I will look for your brother, and should there be evidence proving what you say, I will make sure that Howe is brought to justice."

"That is more than I could ask. Thank you, your Majesty," Nerysse replied.

"I have no doubt you would like to see Fergus. However, he insisted he go scouting as soon as he was rested enough to do anything. He came with Medren's Mabari, I believe, at your twin's request, though he chose to leave Keine here in the camp under the supervision of the kennel master. Fergus will most likely not return until after the battle, and there is no way to send word to him. I apologize."

"No, no, please, don't be sorry. Better for him to not know right away, anyway. Thank you for telling me, your Majesty. I am certain that if Medren were watching right now - which for all I know, he is - he would be very grateful, as well."

"Well, I'm sorry to cut this short," Cailan said, suddenly sounding much less serious than he had, "but I must return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies."

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week," Duncan said before Cailan turned to leave.

"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow will be no different."

"Are things truly going so well?" Nerysse asked. She was trying to hide her concern that perhaps the loss of men in those battles would be an issue, or that there were more darkspawn gathering, but she did not voice those thoughts. She had heard nothing of an archdemon, and from what she had read of Blights, they always came with one of those. A Blight did not end after four battles without an archdemon.

"I'm not even sure this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an archdemon," Cailan replied.

"Disappointed, your Majesty?" Duncan asked.

"I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god! But I suppose this will have to do." After a short pause, Cailan then said, "I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens!"

Nerysse watched as the king turned back towards the ruins. Duncan then spoke to her, "What the king said is true. They've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

"Wars are often more than just several battles, especially wars against darkspawn such as this one," Nerysse replied quietly. "The king doesn't seem to take this seriously enough."

"That is true. Despite the victories so far, the darkspawn horde grows larger every day. By now, they look to outnumber us. There have been attempts made to get more soldiers, but it is not enough. There must be an archdemon behind this, but I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

"He understands that you are necessary in order to win this war, clearly. Does he not respect you enough to at least consider it?"

"We have tried. He will not wait for reinforcements from the Wardens of Orlais. In his eyes, our legend alone makes us invincible."

"I can understand where he may believe that there is not enough time to wait for reinforcements."

"But not only is his army too small now, but the Grey Warden's numbers in Ferelden are too few. For now, we must do what we can and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

"And I'm guessing that this is the ritual through which I would join the Grey Wardens, correct? Surely it takes quite a bit of preparation, and would not be worth it for just one recruit."

"That is true, and that is why you are not the only recruit. There are two others here already. They have been waiting for us to arrive."

"I see. So what should I do, then?"

"Feel free to explore the camp here as you wish. All I ask is that you do not leave for the time being. There is another Grey Warden here by the name of Alistair. When you are ready, seek him out and tell him it is time to summon the other recruits. Until then, I have business I must attend to. You may find me at the Grey Warden tent on the other side of this bridge, should you need to."

At first, Nerysse didn't move. The camp was intimidating in a way. It wasn't because there were a lot of people around. No, she had been in the city of Denerim multiple times before, and it hadn't been so intimidating. It wasn't even all the threat of the darkspawn, either. Maybe it was knowing that there were so many soldiers and important people around. People who would recognize her House Cousland pendant. People who would make a big deal about it. Maybe hiding it would be a good idea.

And, well... the darkspawn threat certainly didn't help matters any.

Mages weren't common in the Grey Wardens. Neither were women. Nerysse was both. She wondered how she would be received, by both her fellow recruits and everyone else in the camp.

She began walking across the bridge. At the very least, there was someone she could comfortably go to talk to there. Surely Wynne would be willing to talk with her if she needed to. And, well, there _were_ other mages. Of course, she knew only a very select few of them, since she mostly ever would speak with other apprentices. There would be some templars around as well. Not that they would be much of a comfort, of course, but they would be there.

Then, she remembered that the king had mentioned that Fergus had left Keine in the camp. Perhaps the Mabari would recognize her, and help to keep her company. She would find out eventually. Keine was smart, and probably knew her scent. At the very least, she probably smelled somewhat like Medren to the dog, and so it would make him more likely to recognize her.

The first thing Nerysse saw when she crossed the bridge was the mage encampment. Other than the wall, anyway. For the time, she decided, she would avoid the mages. They knew she was there, there was no reason to go see them at the time.

So instead, she took the other path. It didn't bring her much farther from the mages, but it didn't bring her close enough to them to start any conversations. She passed by the king and Teyrn Loghain's tents. After that, she saw a fire next to which Duncan stood, and then, the Mabari kennel.

The furious barking that began the moment Nerysse approached the kennel had a familiar sound to it. The kennel master turned to see one of the Mabari jumping up on the fence. Nerysse couldn't help but smile. Mabari all had a similar look about them, but she could recognize Keine easily. The kennel master was trying to calm him down, but was clearly failing. Nerysse walked over and asked, "is something the matter?"

"It's nothing, really," the kennel master replied. "One of the younger lords, I believe he was from Highever, left a Mabari with me while he went out scouting. Said his brother insisted that the dog come to Ostagar with him. Mabari don't tend to take orders from anyone other than their master, though, so the young lord couldn't get this one to do what he asked. The dog had been behaving pretty well, too, until just now. Came as a bit of a surprise."

Nerysse smiled slightly. "I think I know this one, actually." She bent over to attempt to pet the Mabari that she was almost certain was Keine. The fact that he stretched to meet her hand earlier only proved that fact. "My twin and I started to raise him a little while before I was sent to the Circle. I've only seen him a few times since, but it seems he still remembers me."

"Your twin is his master?" The kennel master asked, not surprised, just curious.

"Yes, unless Fergus has another brother I never knew about."

"Hmm... there's a chance that because you and your brother are twins, that he may recognize you as a second master. He only started behaving like this when you arrived, after all. He's pretty lively, for an old dog."

_May also be the bond,_ Nerysse thought. Then, she said, "would it be possible for me to take him out of the kennel for now, then?"

"Of course, especially since it'll keep him from stirring the others too much. Many of them are sick from swallowing darkspawn blood, you see, and I can't have this one exciting the others." The kennel master opened the gate, allowing Keine to happily exit and stand next to Nerysse.

"The other Mabari are sick? Is there any way I might be able to help them?"

"There's an herb that can be found in the wilds that may be able to help them. It's all white with a blood red center. If you head out into the wilds and find any of it, I would be extremely grateful if you would bring it to me."

"I'll see what I can do." With a quick nod, Nerysse walked off to explore the camp some more. Keine followed her happily, and she couldn't help but smile. At the very least, Medren was alive, and so was Keine. That was two people that she could consider family... even if one of them was a dog.

The next part of the camp she explored was up by the infirmary. There was a chantry priest giving some knights a blessing. One of the knights walked away from the group and approached Nerysse. "Greetings. You must be the third recruit we've heard about?"

"And I suppose you're one of the two recruits that was mentioned to me. I'm Nerysse," she answered.

"Ser Jory is my name. I hail from Redcliffe, where I served as knight under the command of Arl Eamon. I... wasn't aware they permitted women to join the Grey Wardens. None of those I've seen thus far have been."

"Well, magic _does_ tend to come in handy when fighting darkspawn."

"I... had heard that mages joined, but... I had not... that is..."

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm a healer. My wimpy little arcane bolt spell can't do much of anything, and I mostly have my staff here to look pretty."

"I... apologize. I have always found magic unnerving. I should be pleased that, in this case, it will be on our side." Jory paused for a moment. "I suppose that since you're here, I'd best get back to Duncan. I shall see you there." The knight walked back the way that Nerysse had come, going to the fire where Duncan had been.

Nerysse's exploration of the camp continued. Past the infirmary was the army camp, which she was promptly told she was not allowed into. That wasn't really a problem, anyway. She turned back to go through the other exit of the infirmary area, which brought her to be right by the quartermaster's shop. There was a man other than the quartermaster standing there. Something about him told her that he was the other of the three recruits, so she went over to greet him.

"Well, you're not what I thought you'd be," he said.

"And what did you expect?" She asked.

"Not a woman. Yet, here you are." There was a slight smile forming on his lips. "The name's Daveth. It's about bloody time you came along. I was beginning to think they cooked up this ritual just for our benefit."

"Rituals tend to mean magic. I doubt they would just make up something to use on us."

"I guess you're right. But you see, I happened to be sneaking around camp last night, and I heard a couple Grey Wardens talking. So I listen in for a bit. Sounds like they're going to be sending us into the Wilds."

"Well, I guess it makes sense. Make sure we can handle darkspawn and all that."

"Still, it's all too secretive for my liking. Makes my nose twitch."

"Whatever happens, don't worry too much. I know a bit of healing magic, so we should be all right if we're sent out into the wilds."

"Right, well, I expect it's time for me to head back to Duncan. That's where I'll be, if you want to talk." Daveth shot her another smile, as he walked back towards the Grey Warden fire.

Nerysse shook her head. Both of the other recruits seemed like respectable enough people, even if Daveth would likely annoy her.

But there was still more to be seen in the camp. Just past the quartermaster was a ramp. Nerysse walked up it to see what was there. Taking a quick look to her left, she saw what looked like a table for meetings, being attended to by elven servants. The way that elves were treated outside of the tower had always bothered her, and that moment was no different. However, she forced herself to ignore it, and instead explore the area to the right of her.

Up another ramp stood a young warrior and a mage, seeming to be in some form of an argument. The warrior appeared oddly familiar, though Nerysse didn't know why. Of course, since she had walked in on the argument, she couldn't help but listen in.

It was amusing, to be sure. The warrior clearly had a sense of humor, something that the mage lacked. That was certainly something to respect the warrior for. It was always better to be able to smile during times of war.

And honestly, Nerysse didn't care that the warrior was making fun of the mage, because it was probably deserved.

As the mage left in annoyance, the warrior turned to Nerysse. "You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together," he told her with a smile.

"It's amazing, isn't it? To see everyone getting along in perfect harmony," Nerysse replied, knowing that he was joking.

"It's like a party; we could all stand in a circle and hold hands. _That_ would give the darkspawn something to think about." Then, he seemed to drop into a slightly more serious tone. "Wait, we haven't met, have we? Don't suppose you're another mage?"

"I'm clearly a warrior who prefers walking around in a robe and carrying a staff, rather than being in armor with a sword by my side," she told him sarcastically.

"Hmm... well, it could happen. Here I thought I had already met and gotten yelled at by every mage in the camp." Again, he paused. "Oh, wait, I do know who you are! You're Duncan's new recruit, aren't you? From the Circle?"

"Well, considering the fact that I'm a mage, I would indeed be from the Circle. And yes, I'm the new recruit. I take it you're Alistair?"

"Did Duncan mention me? Nothing bad, I hope. Anyway, as the junior member of the Wardens, I will be accompanying you as you prepare for your Joining."

"It's nice to meet you, Alistair. I'm Nerysse."

"Right, right, that was the name. Nerysse. I'll have to remember that." His smile had an odd similarity to the king's, she noticed. They looked alike in other ways, too. Weird. "You know, I just realized there aren't many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is."

"You're not the first who has commented on that today. My personal thought on the matter is that we're just too smart for you."

"You're probably right. But what would that make you, since you're here?"

"Just another one of the boys, I guess. I blame my brothers. Especially Medren."

"It's sad, isn't it?" Returning to a serious tone, Alistair once again chanced the subject. "So, I'm curious. Have you ever encountered darkspawn?"

"I've read about them. But I know that reading about something is nothing like the real thing. It doesn't matter what, it's always like that." Betrayal, for one. She had read so many novels where one of the hero's friends betrayed the hero, but it didn't prepare her for the pain of Jowan's betrayal, even if a part of it was her own fault. Losing her family was another thing she hadn't been prepared for, even if she didn't see any of it. There were other things she could think of, but she forced herself not to.

"Books really can't prepare you for it. I've only encountered a darkspawn up close once, and I'm not particularly excited to have it happen again. Anyway, enough about that. Whenever you're ready, we should get back to Duncan. I'm sure he wants to get things started as soon as possible."

Then, Nerysse decided it was her turn to chance the topic. "So. What was that argument all about?"

"With the mage? Oh, well, as you can guess, the Chantry doesn't like the fact that the mages are here at the king's request. That puts me in an awkward position. You see, I was a templar before Duncan recruited me."

"Ah, yes, an awkward position indeed."

"The Revered Mother clearly meant it as an insult when she sent me as her messenger. The mage clearly picked up on that. I wouldn't have agreed to deliver it, but Duncan says we're all to cooperate and get along. Apparently, they didn't get the same lesson."

"Cooperate? Get along? No, they probably got that speech and ignored it. The Circle and Chantry will never be able to cooperate or get along... without people causing issues for other people and causing all sorts of other problems." Then, smiling slightly, Nerysse added, "anyway, we probably should be going, as you've mentioned. I look forward to being able to travel with you, Alistair."

"Really? Huh. That's new. Most people want me to go away after a few words."

"That's because most people don't know the value of humor." Before she let him respond, Nerysse began to walk back towards the Grey Warden fire. Keine was right at her heels.

The walk back to the fire was relatively short, since there was a direct path to it. Nerysse couldn't help but wonder what sort of task would be necessary for preparing for the Joining. Clearly, it was somewhat dangerous, or else Alistair wouldn't be going with them.

Duncan's instructions were for them to go into the Wilds. While there, they were to collect three vials of darkspawn blood, and find old treaties. The need to find the treaties was more of a mission aimed at Alistair, with the three recruits going along as well. The blood, however, was what was necessary for the preparation.

There were many things that blood could be used for in a magical ritual. Blood magic being the most obvious, although she doubted that it would be anything of the sort. There was always just using it as a sort of ink for the setup of the ritual. Or mixing it into a sort of ointment. The blood could have been necessary for any of those things.

Going into the Wilds, however, earned protests from both of her fellow recruits. It was dangerous, they argued. Nerysse's counterargument was that they were told to go there, and that if they got hurt, she could fix it. That was what she had been trained to do, after all. And they were to possibly become Grey Wardens. If they just ran away at the first thought of danger, then how would they ever make it?

That managed to quiet them for a time, which Nerysse liked. If they were to talk, let them talk in order to lighten the mood.

The Wilds were unsettling in a way, and in another, somewhat calming. Having less people around was unusual to Nerysse. In the tower, she could turn around and usually there would be someone there, whether it was a mage, templar, tranquil, or other random guest. Of course, she could look around and see three other people and a Mabari where she stood in the Wilds, but it was different. However, less people also made it quiet. She liked the quiet.

But she couldn't help but get the feeling that someone was watching them. Occasionally, as they made their way through the wilds, she could have sworn she saw a white wolf run by. Why it hadn't attacked her, she couldn't be certain. But it was there, even if none of the others noticed its presence.

Nerysse had probably annoyed the others when she stopped at every corpse to see if she could find something of use. When the wolves that attacked them were carrying lyrium potions on them, it was somewhat odd, but she knew there would be a use for it eventually. She never knew when she'd run out of magical energy, and as long as she didn't take in too much lyrium, she would be okay.

And of course, she kept an eye out for anyone bearing the Cousland crest. They _had_ found a scouting party, but it wasn't Fergus'. Of course, the fact that the scouting party had been completely killed except for the one man who barely survived gave no one in the party good feelings. Even Keine had whimpered when the scout explained what happened. Nerysse had proceeded to heal the man so that he could get back to camp.

At the very least, Alistair explained that Grey Wardens could sense darkspawn, and the whole reason why he was coming along was to keep them from being overwhelmed as easily as they would be had they gone alone. It was a comfort, in its own right.

Alistair had been correct when he said that reading about darkspawn wasn't nearly enough. Even remaining in the back with Daveth while Alistair, Jory, and Keine fought them in close combat, Nerysse could make out how terrible the things were. She couldn't say that she was afraid of them - perhaps the fact that she was among people who had clearly proved themselves to be strong made her more comfortable - but instead, she felt a wrongness about them that made her want to do her part in getting rid of them. Whether that was healing her allies or shooting wimpy arcane bolts at them, she would do it.

They managed to get the darkspawn blood relatively easily. Nerysse also happened to find one of the flowers that the kennel master had mentioned. All that was left was the find the treaties.

Eventually, they found themselves at what appeared to be a ruined tower. At the tower, they found a chest bearing the Grey Warden's symbol on it. There was one problem, however. The chest was destroyed, and there were no treaties in sight.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Came a female voice suddenly. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger, poking amongst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these darkspawn-filled wilds of mine searching for easy prey?"

The speaker was a relatively young human woman, perhaps no older than Nerysse. Her choice of clothing was... odd, to say the very least, but it gave the impression that she had lived in the Wilds for all of her life, which she probably had. The woman was clearly a mage, carrying a staff against her back.

"What say you, hmm? Scavenger, or intruder?"

Nerysse decided to take the lead of the group. "We came to see if what we were looking for is still here, from the time when the Grey Wardens owned this tower."

"'Tis a tower no longer. The Wilds have clearly claimed this desiccated corpse." Walking down the ramp of the destroyed tower towards the group, the woman earned a low growl from Keine as she continued, "I have been watching your progress for some time. 'Where do they go,' I wondered, 'why are they here?' And now, you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"

"Don't answer her," Alistair warned. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby."

"Oh, you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" The woman asked Alistair, clearly sounding somewhat amused.

"Yes... swooping is... bad."

"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is!" Daveth exclaimed, as if realizing it suddenly. "She'll turn us into toads."

Nerysse let out a sigh. She was about to mutter a comment about knowledge of counter spells, when the woman then replied, "Witch of the Wilds? Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" Then, the woman looked at Nerysse. "You there. Women do not frighten like little boys. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine."

Despite the fact that it went against what the Chantry would have told her to do, she knew that the only way to get information would be to be polite and not to randomly attack the women for being what would normally be considered an illegal mage. "My name is Nerysse. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, a proper civil greeting, even out here in the Wilds. You may call me Morrigan. Now, shall I guess your purpose? The thing you sought was supposed to be in that chest, but it is here no longer?"

"'Here no longer?'" Alistair repeated. "You stole them, didn't you!? You're... some kind of... sneaky... witch-thief!"

"Oh, how very eloquent," Morrigan said, clearly not threatened by Alistair at all. Not that Alistair seemed very threatening. "How does one steal from dead men?"

"Quite easily, it seems. Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them." Amazingly enough, Alistair sounded a little bit more threatening.

"I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer; I am not threatened."

"Then who removed them?" Nerysse asked. She would remain the polite one.

"'Twas my mother, in fact."

"Could you take us to her, then?"

"Now, _there_ is a sensible request. I like you."

"I'd be careful, if I were you," Alistair whispered to Nerysse. "First it's 'I like you,' but then 'Zap!' Frog time."

"Last time I checked, Alistair," Nerysse whispered back, "_you_ had received templar training, and had most likely learned how to keep a mage from using magic, and _I_ was a mage, who had a slight idea of what a counter spell for that kind of magic would be. You of all people shouldn't be concerned about this."

Nerysse didn't want to listen to any protests from the rest of her companions. Even Keine seemed to be somewhat afraid, although he was forcing himself not to show it. The poor Mabari really was getting old, and had probably never seen a real battle before he had been taken down to Ostagar.

"Follow me, then, if it pleases you," Morrigan told them, beginning to walk off deeper into the wilds.

Morrigan's mother had been helpful. Crazy, but helpful. They got the treaties, no fighting involved, and they even managed to get an escort out of the Wilds so that they didn't get lost.

And so, the group returned to the camp. They reported their results to Duncan, and Alistair was told to lead them to the location where the Joining would be taking place. Nerysse took a deep breath as Alistair led them. All of the secrets meant that it was dangerous, perhaps as dangerous as the Harrowing.

* * *

The situation was quite an annoying one. It wasn't the fact that he was stuck in a random box of some sort. No, he could deal with the relatively cramped space. He could deal with the fact that he was tied up. He could even deal with the fact that he had been gagged because he wouldn't stop talking.

He just couldn't stand the fact that there was no tea, and no hope of getting any.

And, well, there was always the issue of Nerysse's emotions. Uncertainty and frustration were what had been seething through. And suddenly, Medren felt the urge to close his eyes and see what was going on with her. After all, he couldn't see much normally anyway. So, he did just that.

The first thing that he noted was the explanation of a ritual. He knew that something would happen if he kept watching through the ritual, since watching like that made them more connected. After all, during Nerysse's Harrowing, he had ended up pulled into the Fade as well, even if he had been invisible to anyone there. But he wasn't able to open his eyes. Somehow, he was forced to watch, no matter what happened.

_"Daveth, step forward," the Grey Warden known as Duncan said. The so-called Joining ritual had begun, and Medren had no choice to see exactly how it went._

_One of the men standing there, who Medren assumed was Daveth, stepped forward. Yes, that would make sense, since Daveth had just been told to step forward. Duncan handed the man a goblet, and Daveth drank. And after he drank, he fell, clearly in pain. Duncan apologized to him._

_The man was dead._

_The other man in Nerysse's vision resisted the requirement of the ritual to drink the... darkspawn blood, wasn't it? Not something a normal person would want to drink, anyway. But apparently, since the ritual was a big secret, Duncan had to kill the man, apparently known as Jory._

_Not a very pretty sight._

_It was Nerysse's turn to drink. She didn't seem to mind too much, although there was a strong feeling of fear coming through the bond. And although she said nothing, Medren could have sworn he heard her voice say 'I will make you proud' right before she swallowed the blood._

Was it Nerysse's pain? Was it her scream? No, it was his own. And hers. They were one and the same, both of them pain, feeling the fire going down their throats, the horrible taste in their mouths. The weird twisting of their stomachs.

The changing of their beings.

Medren's screams were muffled by the gag in his mouth, but he was still loud enough to have caused Howe's men to notice. As his consciousness slipped, he saw the top of the box - or whatever it was - come off, to reveal a little bit of light coming from a campfire.

Then, everything went black again, and the sound of a great dragon's roar filled his mind.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note:_ I apologise if this is at all poorly edited - I'm not sure how much editing I did before today, and I didn't really feel like reading back through it. So... yeah. Also, I gave a name to a random unnamed NPC. Why? Because I felt like it. The name itself is random and has no real reason to be what it is.

* * *

_At the time, all I thought was that it was great that we were getting another recruit, even if she wouldn't be able to Join for some time afterwards. I couldn't imagine what she would become. After all, she was a young woman who had never seen the world outside of her home alienage before. How was I supposed to expect that she would become what she did?_

It was early in the morning. Nerysse had yet to wake up after the Joining, but she had survived. At least one of them had. Perhaps Jory would have made it as well, had he not turned back at the last minute. But what was in the past was in the past.

Alistair had been sent to wait by the road leading out of Ostagar. Apparently, a letter had arrived for Duncan alerting him that a recruit from Denerim's alienage was coming, and Duncan decided it would be Alistair's job to bring her into the camp. And to keep her away from the nobles, if at all possible. In some ways, though, it was a good thing that he had been sent to do that. It helped to get his mind off of things that had happened. And it also kept him from getting sent on a random mission from the Revered Mother to pester mages. That got old after a while.

He saw a figure in the distance, coming closer at a pace that seemed to be relatively tired running. The person in question was shorter than the average human, with what looked to be short reddish brown hair... at that point, it was matching the description of the elf he was supposed to be looking for. Or at least, the fact that the person was shorter than an average human most likely made that person an elf, and short reddish brown hair had been a part of the description. Of course, there were many relatively short people with short hair that color.

But as the person came closer, he was able to make the distinction that this person was indeed a female, and he could even see hints of pointed ears as her hair moved. Some markings on the woman's cheeks came into view, and the deep blue eyes that he saw last gave her away. She was definitely the woman he was looking for. A woman by the name of Chisa Tabris, if he remembered correctly.

She seemed to slow down as she came closer, her steps gaining a slightly timid nature. Of course, that would make sense, considering how she probably was not particularly comfortable around humans. None of the elves that he'd met were. Not that he had met very many elves.

"Umm... excuse me," she called out as she got close enough for a conversation. "M-my name is Chisa Tabris. I was recruited into the Grey Wardens, and was told to come straight here. I have the letter that recruited me and everything, it's right here, I think..." she began digging in her bag.

"Don't worry about that," Alistair replied with a smile. "A letter was sent ahead alerting the Wardens that you would be coming. I'm Alistair, the newest G- wait, no, I'm not the newest anymore. I have to remember that. Anyway, I'll be your guide to Ostagar. I'm sure Duncan will want to see you, if you wouldn't mind coming with me."

"Could we just, umm... avoid any nobles, if possible? There have been some... issues, as of late."

"Most of the nobles are in the army camp," Alistair explained as he began to lead her towards Duncan's fire, where, even if the Senior Warden wasn't there at the time, he was bound to show up eventually. "The Grey Wardens are in the king's camp, so if we see any nobles, I expect it would be king Cailan or Teyrn Loghain. But I'll be sure to avoid their tents, since it can be done."

"Thanks," she replied. After they passed the mages' encampment, she said somewhat quietly, "I'm surprised. You haven't asked about what the issues I mentioned might be."

"I'm sure you have your reasons for not telling me, so I won't pry."

"Hmm. Not many people would think like that. So far, you're staying on the list of 'humans who don't make me mad.'"

"That would be a good thing, right?" Of course, he knew the answer. After all, everyone was supposed to get along and cooperate, even if certain groups ignored that fact.

"Well, that depends. Do you want one of your allies to not like you?"

"The mages don't like me already, so one more person disliking me couldn't hurt. After all, _someone_ has to make up for the newest mage Warden who seems to not mind me."

Chisa seemed to laugh slightly. "Well, for now, I like you. Maybe that'll change eventually, but at the moment, that's how it is. If you don't like it, then figure out how to change it."

"I think I'll try to stick to having one less person yelling at me, then. For some reason, I get the feeling getting on your bad side would be a very bad idea."

"Probably, yes."

By that point, they had reached the Grey Wardens' fire. There, Nerysse's dog was sleeping, but he woke up as they approached. He stood, and walked over to Chisa. Once he was in front of her, he barked happily.

Chisa bent down to be at the same level as the dog. "Keine?" she asked it quietly. The Mabari licked her cheek, as if to answer her with a 'yes.' The elf smiled, placing her hand on Keine's head. Alistair was surprised. How did Chisa know Nerysse's Mabari?

After some more careful observation of the elf, Alistair realized that she wore a pendant akin to the one that Nerysse wore. Chisa's, however, was made of silver, whereas Nerysse's was gold. But they both had the crest of House Cousland on them. Of course, for Nerysse, that made sense, considering that she had been part of that family before she became a mage. But Chisa...? She was an elf, and from _Denerim_. It wasn't as if she had been a servant of the family or something.

"So I've been asked to attend a strategy meeting soon that has to do with the battle tonight...?" Came Nerysse's voice suddenly from the direction of the infirmary. Alistair looked in that direction to see Duncan and Nerysse talking as they walked towards the fire. The mage had clearly woken up, which was good. It ensured that there would be no odd complications while she was still unconscious.

"Yes, the king has requested your presence specifically," Duncan replied to Nerysse. They were almost at the fire by that point. The Wardens' commander waved as a greeting to Alistair as he commented, "I see our newest recruit has arrived."

Chisa stood when she heard that, showing some slight uncertainty on her face. Then, Chisa and Nerysse simultaneously smiled. The two of them must have recognized one another. Why that was, Alistair had no idea, but he didn't have to know.

"I thought you would be busy settling into a new lifestyle to come to war," Nerysse said to the elf.

"Learned that through your brother, did you?" Chisa replied, "there was a change of plans, though. It was a disaster. And so, now I'm here."

"And the Wardens are glad to have you, miss Tabris," Duncan said. "You will not be able to Join officially for a time yet. We do not have the resources to prepare for only one recruit each time one shows up. However, your status as a Warden recruit will be known throughout the camp, and you will not be able to be touched by any nobles who may wish to do anything."

"I... That's perfectly fine. To be perfectly honest I wasn't even expecting that I would survive the trip here. But now that I _am_ here, I'll make sure to do my best. After all, I owe you everything, Ser Duncan."

"Just Duncan will suffice, miss Tabris."

"Then you call me Chisa. I won't let you use a more formal name for me when I'm told not to for you." The look in her eyes seemed to say that she would have preferred to be allowed to be a little bit more formal, but that it was not the first time that something like that had occurred. It was somewhat odd to Alistair, since he didn't remember hearing Duncan ever attempt to address someone who didn't have a title of their own by using a title such as miss. But perhaps he was trying to make the city elf feel more welcome by being polite.

"Very well then, Chisa. Anyway, I must attend to the beginning of the strategy meeting with king Cailan and Teyrn Loghain. Nerysse, once you have collected yourself fully, I suggest you attend. Chisa, if you can, I would recommend you visit the quartermaster in order to properly prepare yourself for the battle tonight. I do not know if you will be needed, but you most likely will be, considering how we need everyone we can get."

Chisa nodded as Duncan walked off. There was once again that uncertainty on her face. Of course! She had probably never fought in a real battle before, and definitely not against darkspawn. She had no idea what she would be up against, and being told that she was probably going to be sent into the battle was not going to make her feel very good. She didn't look like she had very good equipment, either. If he had to, Alistair decided, he would help pay the quartermaster to make properly fitting armor in the short amount of time before the battle.

"So, Chisa, I see Medren unofficially knighted you," Nerysse said with a smile.

"He said in the letter that it wasn't really knighting, since knights of Highever wear gold pendants like the members of the family," Chisa replied somewhat quietly.

"He's a liar, then. The knights appointed by the Teyrn, Teyrna, or first heir to the Teyrnir wear the gold necklace, in addition to the members of the family. The silver necklaces go to any of the knights appointed by any other member of the family. Therefore... to be honest, I don't know who would appoint the gold ones now. Fergus and Medren, I guess. But when Medren gave you yours, the family was still actually alive, so he couldn't properly issue the gold one."

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait. What about the family not being alive?"

"Oh, right. You know about the bond, right? Well, I... saw a part of an attack on Highever... one that did not end well for the family. Fergus had already left for Ostagar, and Medren was taken prisoner. Why, I don't know, but he was."

Oh. _Oh_. Her family was dead? Why hadn't anyone told him about this before? Why were they talking about this in front of him, anyway? They probably didn't want him to know, after all. Or maybe they did. Maybe they just didn't care. How was he supposed to know? But that would explain the somewhat sad and lonely look in her eyes when he had first seen her. Of course, that look had been quickly replaced by amusement because she caught part of the argument with the mage, but that wasn't the point.

"I... see..." Chisa replied. "But I'm guessing that's not why you were recruited into the Wardens, now is it?"

"It isn't. But I don't really want to talk about that right now. I'm... still coming to terms with what caused my recruitment."

"I understand. I'm not particularly comfortable with what happened to me, either."

"Anyway, I really should head off to that strategy meeting. Upsetting the king would be a very bad idea, I think."

* * *

Her list of 'humans who make me mad' had grown by one. The camp's quartermaster was not someone who she had enjoyed the company of, considering how he had mistaken her for one of his servants. She promptly yelled at him and threatened to beat him up, and eventually made him swear that he would treat his servants better.

But, she had managed to get him to resize some leather armor to fit her properly, for a discount, at that. The discount so that she didn't kill him. She also purchased better weapons, a backpack, and some vials. She had seen plants around that she could probably use to make medicines and poisons. She didn't know much about either skill, but her mother had taught her a little bit.

Chisa sat by the Grey Warden fire, waiting for Duncan and Nerysse to return from the meeting. Keine slept at Chisa's feet. She wasn't completely sure why Medren's Mabari was there when he wasn't, but she wasn't complaining. Alistair was at the fire as well, seeming to be cleaning his armor. Which had already been clean. Perhaps he was just nervous, and needed to do something to keep his hands busy. That would be the most logical explanation.

Beyond that, a few of the other Wardens in the camp passed by to greet them, and some stayed for a few minutes to talk a little bit. But that was never a particularly long thing, because they all had other jobs to take care of. For some reason, Chisa and Alistair seemed to be the only people in the camp with nothing to do right before the upcoming battle.

It felt like a long time before Duncan and Nerysse returned, but return they did. Alistair and Chisa stood simultaneously, awaiting to hear what they would be doing.

"The three of you will go to the Tower of Ishal to light the beacon that will signal Teyrn Loghain's men to charge," Duncan explained, not waiting for either Alistair or Chisa to ask what the plan was.

"Wait, what?" Alistair asked, confused. "I won't be in the battle?"

"It is by the king's personal request that you and Nerysse do this task, Alistair. If the beacon is not lit, the Teyrn's men will not know when to charge."

"So he needs two and a half Grey Wardens standing at the top of the tower to hold the torch. Just in case, right?" Alistair still didn't sound pleased.

"It's an important task," Chisa pointed out, trying not to show her relief that she wouldn't be on the main lines. "And one that's a little less dangerous. We're not going to be on the front lines, but if we slack off, the battle will most likely be lost."

"We must do whatever it takes to destroy the darkspawn," Duncan said. "Exciting or no."

"I get it, I get it," Alistair replied, sounding just a little annoyed. Then, his tone changed to a slightly lighter one. "But just so you know, if the king ever tells me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line. Darkspawn or no."

Chisa and Nerysse both laughed a little bit at that comment. Chisa chose to respond. "I don't know, Alistair. It would be quite the sight."

"I'd do it for you, maybe. But it would have to be a pretty dress."

Duncan just sighed. He seemed to be used to Alistair's behavior. And Chisa knew that she would probably only make it worse. "The tower is on the other side of the gorge from the king's camp. It was the way we came when we arrived, Nerysse, if you recall. You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley. We will signal you when it is time for you to light the beacon. Alistair will know what to look for."

"Sounds easy enough," Nerysse said. "Let's get there quickly, to make sure that we're there when it's time."

"I must join the others," Duncan told them. "From here, the three of you are on your own. Remember, you are Grey Wardens, or, as the case may be, a Grey Warden recruit. I expect you to be worthy of that title." He began to walk away to wherever he needed to go.

"Duncan," Alistair said, causing the older Warden to stop and look back. "May the Maker watch over you."

With a slight nod, Duncan replied, "May He watch over us all."

Once Duncan had left, Nerysse said, "Get your things. Anything you might need in the case of a fight, should something go wrong. Meet me over by the mages' enclave."

Chisa simply nodded. In the case of a fight... Chisa really hoped that didn't happen. She already had everything she needed with her. She was wearing her armor, her new longsword and dagger were at a point of easy access. She had a few healing items, and a few bottles of weak poison. She even had the little tools she had bought on her way to Ostagar for picking locks and disarming traps. Also, she kept the money she had left in the boot that she didn't keep her knife in. Even with good weapons, she would never throw away that trusty knife.

After checking once to make sure that everything was definitely where she remembered it to be, she walked over to the mages' enclave, where Nerysse and Keine stood. Alistair showed up not long after, and didn't appear to have anything other than what he had with him before.

Before they could move on to approach the bridge, Chisa heard the sounds of the battle beginning. She heard a man - the king, perhaps? - call for the archers to shoot. Not long after, he ordered for the Mabari to be sent out.

As they began to cross the bridge, Chisa heard a shout of "For Ferelden!" From the shouts in response, she assumed that the front lines had begun their charge. Nerysse nodded towards Chisa and Alistair, as if to tell them that they needed to move across the bridge quickly. Not that Chisa was planning on taking her time; the darkspawn were beginning to hurl boulders up that way.

Somehow, getting across the bridge alive was not as much of a challenge as she had expected. It was what was past the bridge that proved to be a challenge.

"Nerysse!" Came a voice, coming from a man in a mage's robe. He was followed by a soldier, as he ran towards the group. "I heard you would be coming to the tower, and you're just in time."

"Tobias, what's the problem?" Nerysse asked. Clearly this man was someone she knew from the tower, not that it mattered all that much.

"The tower's been overrun. There are darkspawn everywhere!"

"What!? There was supposed to be no resistance here! I could have sworn that _someone_ was supposed to send men to make sure that no stray darkspawn came around this way."

"It's not just a band of stray darkspawn. Most, if not all, of them came in from the lower levels of the tower. But... you're a Grey Warden, aren't you, Nerysse? You can help to take care of the darkspawn, right?"

"Yes, I suppose that's what we'll have to do. I expect that you'll help too, though. You _were_ stationed here for a reason, after all."

"Of course! I wasn't thinking of just running away."

"Good. Let's go. If there are as many darkspawn as you say, we'll have to fight fast if we want to light the beacon in time."

And when the mage - Tobias, Nerysse had called him - said that there were darkspawn everywhere, he _meant_ it. Chisa tried to hide the fact that she was honestly afraid. After all, although she had fought many trained guardsmen relatively recently, darkspawn weren't the same. She just had to do her best.

She wasn't about to go rushing in without a second thought, anyway. No, she would let Alistair take the lead; after all, _he_ was the one wearing heavy armor and wielding a shield. He could handle most attacks thrown at him. Chisa? Maybe she could dodge them, but if she got hit, that would be a problem. Leather armor didn't offer _that_ much protection. It gave her enough to hopefully keep her from being killed in one hit, and it was light enough to suit her preferred fighting style.

The first floor of the tower gave off the appearance that it really was overrun by darkspawn. "I can sense a lot of them on every floor," Alistair whispered. "It's so strange! They weren't supposed to be here!"

"And here you were, complaining about not being able to fight," Nerysse whispered in response.

"Hey, you're right! I guess there is a silver lining to this, after all. At any rate, we need to hurry. Teyrn Loghain needs the signal, and if we have to fight out way up, we may not make it in time."

After quick nods of understanding from everyone, they began to venture further into the tower. As they were about to make a turn into the main part of the floor, Chisa told them to stop. "Give me a moment," she whispered. She carefully took a few steps forward and saw exactly what she thought she saw: a trip wire. Her next action was to pull out her toolkit from the side pocket of her backpack, taking out a small pair of scissors. She quickly cut the wire and then looked back to her companions. "Okay, it's safe."

The trip wire being there, as somewhat expected, was an indication that there were darkspawn in that area waiting for someone to walk in. They weren't too difficult to kill, at least. Maybe they weren't expecting a group of four humans, an elf, and a Mabari to attack them. Yes, that was probably it.

"Under normal circumstances," Nerysse said, "I would suggest that we spend time looting the corpses. But we don't _have_ time. Let's go."

* * *

It was still horribly cramped, and there was still no tea to be had. Not to mention the fact that Medren had just been unconscious for... oh, almost a day, perhaps? And that he had woken up to the feeling of combat going on through the bond. What sort of trouble had Nerysse gotten herself into now...?

And he had felt weird since he woke up, in a way. Like something had happened to _him_ during that ritual thing, and not just to her. Had he become a Grey Warden by mistake? Something about that didn't seem likely. And yet, it wouldn't have surprised him all that much. The bond was strong, after all, and it had had some weird effects in the past, at least on him.

Medren still had nothing to do, though. He had no idea where he was being taken. Not like it really mattered, because he'd probably end up in some cold and dark dungeon. Not somewhere he really wanted to be, but if it had any more space in it than the weird box thing that he was stuck in, it would be an improvement.

So what was Nerysse up to, anyway? She was on the top of a tower of some sort, fighting... what _was_ that? It had to be a form of darkspawn, but even so... he suddenly felt relieved that he hadn't been sent to Ostagar with Fergus. Of course, he still wasn't pleased that he had been taken prisoner, but that was something that he would deal with another time.

Apparently Medren only caught the tail end of the battle, considering how a young elf - wait, was that Chisa? - leapt up to strike a final blow against it. That _was_ Chisa; no other elf would have that hair color and style with that exact mark on the face. What was she doing there? Wasn't she supposed to be married? Unless... had she been conscripted? Had something else happened? He had no idea. And the way things were going, he would never find out.

_"Nerysse! The beacon!" One of his sister's companions shouted._

_"Right!" Nerysse replied, casting a small fire ball at a pile of wood. Said pile burst into flames._

_Suddenly, a large group of darkspawn appeared on the top floor. Before anyone could say anything in response, arrows were flying towards them._

And then, Nerysse's vision must have gone black, because Medren could see nothing more. All he heard before everything stopped was what sounded almost like the wings of a great bird. What happened next, he didn't know. What he _did_ know, was that Nerysse wasn't dead. Yet.

* * *

Her head was pounding. And she was hungry. This wasn't the top of the tower of Ishal, there was no way that it was. Unless the tower had beds on its roof that she hadn't seen, and she had managed to collapse onto one of them. So where _was_ she?

She tried to sit up. Her body argued with her, but she eventually managed to perform the action.

"You are awake," came a voice, one that she recognized. "Mother shall be pleased. As will your companions, I believe, for you have been asleep for quite some time."

Opening her eyes, Nerysse saw the speaker. "It's... Morrigan, right? Where is this?" She asked, somewhat absently.

"This is Mother's hut, of course, in the wilds. Yes, I am Morrigan, and I have just finished changing the bandages on your wounds. You are welcome, by the way." Morrigan paused for a moment, and then continued to speak. "How does your memory fare? Do you remember Mother's rescue?"

"I... vaguely remember the sound of large, flapping wings after the darkspawn massed atop the tower, but... beyond that, nothing."

"Hmm. 'Tis better than we would had originally thought. Mother managed to save you, the hound, and two of those who were with you, though 'twas a close call. The man who was supposed to respond to your signal quit the field. The darkspawn won your battle. Those he abandoned were massacred. Your friend, the one who was with you when we first met... he is not taking it well."

"How long have I been unconscious?" Nerysse asked. She also wanted to know who else had been saved. She knew she, Alistair, and Keine had been, but Morrigan said that two of her companions had also been rescued. She hoped that it was Chisa, and not one of the other two. She had never seen the soldier before, and Tobias was just a mage who had been in a few of her classes while they were still apprentices. She had no reason to hope for either of them to live.

"It has been about two weeks now, since you were rescued. We expected you to be the first to awaken, for your wounds were the shallowest."

"I am... known to recover slowly." Because of the bond, but she didn't want to have to explain it at the time. "Thank you for helping me, Morrigan."

"You are... welcome. Mother did most of the work, however. I am no healer. I should tell you that Mother wished to see you when you awoke. I suggest you do so quickly. Your clothes can be found on or around the table right next to the bed."

"Okay. I'll be sure to do that, then."

Once she had managed to stand up, Nerysse quickly dressed herself. Things still hurt, but she was well enough to move. She then made her way out of the hut.

The first thing she noticed when she exited was the fact that Alistair was facing away from the hut, seemingly staring at nothing. Chisa - thank the Maker it was her - was off to the side absently playing with Keine. The elf was looking at Alistair, her eyes filled with concern. Then, Nerysse noticed Morrigan's mother standing there.

The old woman suddenly said, addressing Alistair, "See? Here is your fellow Grey Warden. You worry too much, young man."

Alistair turned to look at Nerysse. "You... you're alive...! You'd been out for so long, I didn't think-"

"I'm sorry I worried you, Alistair," Nerysse replied, seeing pain and loss in his eyes.

"Duncan's dead. The Grey Wardens, even the king... they're all... _dead_," he whispered, as if trying not to make it completely obvious that he was extremely upset. He had been close to the Wardens, especially Duncan... This, Nerysse knew. "This... this doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd all three be dead on top of that tower."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present, lad," Morrigan's mother then said.

"I didn't mean... but what do we call you? You never told us your name," Alistair replied, stuttering his words slightly.

"Names are pretty, but useless. The Chasind folk call me Flemeth. I suppose it will do."

The way that Alistair's eyes widened in a form of surprise and slight fear made Nerysse force herself to resist the temptation to roll her eyes. Great, they were dealing with the 'Witch of the Wilds.' As if _that_ possibility hadn't been brought up while they had been out preparing for the Joining with Daveth and Ser Jory.

"_The_ Flemeth? From the legends? Daveth was right: you're the Witch of the Wilds, aren't you?" Alistair replied,

" And what does that mean?" Flemeth replied, clearly not caring about the topic. "I know a bit of magic, and it has served you all well, has it not?"

"And thank you, for that," Nerysse replied. "But we're brought back to the main issue. We, Alistair, are the only Grey Wardens left in Ferelden. I don't know about you, but I don't know how to run the Joining, so I doubt we can start making any more Wardens any time soon. There's a Blight starting, and we need to stop it before there are too many problems. Teyrn Loghain is causing problems for Ferelden already by running away when the battle could have been won. What do you propose we do?"

"Loghain must think that the darkspawn are just a minor threat," Alistair replied. "We have to warn everyone that that's _not true_."

"And who will believe you?" Flemeth asked with slight amusement in her voice. "Unless you think to convince this Loghain of his mistake?"

"He just betrayed his own king! If Arl Eamon knew what he did at Ostagar, he would be the first to call for his execution!"

"Arl Eamon? The Arl of Redcliffe?" Chisa asked, getting up from her position over on the side.

"Yes. Arl Eamon wasn't at Ostagar... He still has all of his men... And he was Cailan's uncle. I _know_ him. He's a good man, respected in the Landsmeet... Of course! We could go to Redcliffe and appeal to him for help!"

"That's not a bad idea," Nerysse replied. "If we're planning on trying to convince the nobles, might I also suggest we attempt to find one of both of my brothers? House Cousland is probably the most respected noble house, not including the royal family, of course. I, being a mage, can no longer speak for my family, but I know my brothers. Both of them. If we tell them what happened, they would waste no time in supporting us."

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, the Wilds are kind of big, so finding your older brother might be a bit difficult. And it's not like we could leave a note anywhere telling him where to find us," Alistair said in response, trying not to say it in a way that would upset her.

"I know. I was more suggesting finding Medren, anyway, since he's easier to find."

"But what about beyond that?" Chisa asked. "You can get all the noble help you want if you convince them you're doing the right thing. You can kill Teyrn Loghain if you must. But will all the human armies coming from the nobles be enough? Will we be able to defeat the Blight with just that?"

"Wait a moment... the treaties!" Alistair exclaimed. "I knew I was doing the right thing when I held onto them and put them in my backpack before we went to the tower! Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages, and other places! They're obligated to help us during a Blight!"

"I may be old," Flemeth commented, "but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else... this sounds like an army to me."

"So can we do this?" Alistair asked. "Go to Redcliffe and these other places and... build an army?"

"Well, I can handle the talking if I need to, and with that we might have a chance," Nerysse answered. "We're Grey Wardens, and there's a Blight. It's our duty to stop it, isn't it?"

"So you are set then?" Flemeth asked them. "Ready to be Grey Wardens?"

"Is anyone _ever_ ready for this sort of a thing?" Nerysse replied with a sigh. "We're as ready as we were ever going to be, I suppose."

"Now... before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you."

Right as Nerysse was about to ask what that thing was, the door to the hut opened once again as Morrigan came out. "The stew is bubbling, Mother dear," Morrigan said. "Shall we have three guests for the eve, or none?"

"The Grey Wardens will be leaving shortly, girl. And you will be joining them," Flemeth replied.

"Such a sha- _What?_"

"You heard me, girl. The last time I looked, you had ears!"

"Have _I_ no say in this?" Morrigan asked angrily.

"You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years; here is your chance." Flemeth then addressed the others. "As for you, Wardens, consider this repayment for your lives."

After some more discussion, it was decided that Morrigan would join them. Despite the fact that being an apostate would cause trouble, having a mage trained more in offensive magic than the healing magic Nerysse was trained in would be helpful. It would just be a matter of working around the Chantry, which hopefully wouldn't prove to be too difficult.

Once Morrigan had collected her things, they set out to head north, out of the Wilds. They would stop by a village known as Lothering in order to get supplies, and come up with at least a slight plan as to where they would be going.


End file.
